


Baggage

by deadly_nightshade, Nerdy_fangirl_57



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Aftercare, Alive Talia Hale, Alpha Derek, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - BDSM, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awesome Laura Hale, Banshee Lydia Martin, Child Allison, Child Danny, Child Isaac, Child Scott, Collars, Crush at First Sight, Cuddling & Snuggling, Derek Hale & Kira Yukimura Friendship, Dom Derek, Dom/sub, Eventual Smut, Evil Theo Raeken, F/F, F/M, Good Peter, Hurt Stiles, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Minor Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore, Mpreg, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Past Relationship(s), Police Officer Derek, Protective Derek, Sassy Erica, Scent Marking, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Single Parent Stiles Stilinski, Slow Build, Sourwolf Derek Hale, Spanking, Stiles Stilinski Cooks, Stiles Wears Glasses, Strangers to Lovers, Sub Stiles, Teacher Stiles, The Hale Fire, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Werefox Stiles, Werewolf Jackson, sub drops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-15
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-07 12:12:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 109,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5456117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadly_nightshade/pseuds/deadly_nightshade, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerdy_fangirl_57/pseuds/Nerdy_fangirl_57
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek wasn't meant to be the Alpha of Beacon Hills, but, when Laura moves to New York with her husband the Beacon Hills territory needed a new alpha to take charge. Not only is he busy running around making sure his territory is safe and doing his job correctly as Sheriff of the Beacon Hills Supernatural Police Department alongside Sheriff Stilinski who was the Sheriff of the Beacon Hills Human Police Department but he also has to keep track of his 3 adopted children. Erica and Boyd are about to start their junior year of high school so he doesn't need to stress over them very much but Isaac? The youngest and newest member of their small pack? That's the one he worries about.</p><p>Isaac is a shy little pup and this will be the first year that Isaac won't be home schooled. He is about to start 2nd grade and Derek couldn't do anything but worry. That is until he caught sight of the 2nd grade teacher. A face too elegant to be considered handsome and too masculine to be viewed as pretty but gorgeous nonetheless with sweet honey brown eyes and a bright smile as his lean figure rested against the door frame where he waited for the parents to pick up their children. Yeah...... Isaac will be fine...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Two Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beacon Hills... the hot spot for all things supernatural. Supernatural beings and humans live in relative peace and harmony amongst each other... most of the time anyway. Beacon Hills is run and was founded by the Hale pack, one of the strongest and the most respected packs for generations. The wolves were seen as the protectors and guardians of the dense forest surrounding the town. The wind always smelled like pine and earth and the people of the small town were gentle and kind.... for the most part.

 Derek Hale, the youngest child of Talia Hale (lead Alpha of the Hale pack), was lounging in the kitchen with a hot cup of black coffee, the stress gradually seeping out of his pores. A quick glance at his watch told him it was a few minutes before six. The oh-so-serious man released a heavy sigh as he rubbed his eyes on his way to his bedroom to get ready for work. 

  Once he finished putting on his uniform, Derek goes back to the kitchen where all his reports and documents were scattered on top of the countertop ready to be taken to the station. Looking back at his watch, he quickens his stride before he got late to work. Derek snatches a sticky note from his fridge door and scribbles a short note to his two eldest kids, Erica and Boyd, telling them to help Isaac (his youngest) get ready for his first day of school.

  After he's done, He pops his head into Isaac's room. Quietly entering, Derek tried his best to not make a single sound knowing how much of a light sleeper Isaac is. When Derek reaches the bed he feels a gentle warmth setting in his chest as he gazes down fondly at the little 7 year old pup. The ash blonde's curls surround his face like a halo. Derek leans over the bed and plants a feather light kiss on the top of Isaac's head before turning and exiting the room as quietly and carefully as he arrived. His shift starts in half an hour and he makes his way to the front yard toward his Camaro. He puts all the files and documents on the passengers seat as he starts driving, hardly paying attention to the road as he's enclosed by his thoughts.

  It's Isaac's first day of school. What if Erica and Boyd don't drop him off on time? Or if his classmates are mean to him? What if he's the only werewolf in his class?? What if the different scents and sounds are just too much for him to take? He should have trained him better, gotten him used to different scents and showing him how he can control his senses so they won't seem too overpowering...

 Suddenly Derek found himself in front of the Beacon Hills Police Department building. Well, hopefully Isaac doesn't experience any of the scenarios his brain came up with and Derek will hear all about his son's first day of school when he picks him up this afternoon.

 

* * *

 

                  Stiles was doing the finishing touches on the labels for his classroom. Little kids have the natural talent to make a mess of everything they can get their hands on so he always makes sure that his classroom is plastered with labels and categorizes for easy clean up. When he's satisfied with his work Stiles neatly places all the newly made labels in a binder before grabbing his bag that contains all his work related things and puts the black 3 inch binder inside. Once everything is set and ready to go Stiles checks his phone to discover that it was 6 in the morning. He didn't have to go be at work until 8:30 but he needs to finish organizing the classroom and putting the final details before the students get there.

He makes his way through the corridor leading to Scott's room before he slowly opens the door. Stiles sees Scott sprawled out on the bed looking completely dead to the world with his mouth wide open as he breaths and limbs spread out as if trying to see how much of his bed he can cover. He barely manages to stifle a laugh at the sight as he moves over towards the bed.

"Hey Scottie, its time to wake up buddy." he whispers gently while running his fingers through Scott's unruly dark hair lovingly.

"Don't wanna." he replied in an indignant mumble as he burrowed deeper into the bed.

Stiles just gave a small huff as he kissed Scott's forehead and said, "Well then why don't I just carry you to the car so you can keep sleeping on our way to the school?"

          It took a few moments for Scott's groggy mind to comprehend what he said before he started making grabby hand motions at Stiles. Stiles immediately scoops the little 6 year old up in his embrace, Scott's small arms automatically encircled his neck.

He feels Scott's head nuzzle into the crook of his neck and he can't help but feel thankful that scent blockers don't work on blood relatives as he rests his nose on Scott's hair and takes deep breaths of the pup's scent.

Stiles silently moved to Scott's closet picking out a plain white long sleeved t-shirt, a pair of denim jeans, toms, and a grey beanie for Scott to change into later before leaving the room.

Stiles slowly proceeded to the living room to get his bag trying his best not to move Scott that he knows has already fallen back asleep. When he got a hold of his bag he swiftly made his way to the front yard where his 2014 black jeep wrangler was parked on the drive way. He opened the back door and smoothly settled Scott on his booster seat as he buckled him up.

When he was done Stiles softly closed the door and moved to the drivers seat just as he started up the car and drove off to the school.

They arrived in the school parking lot 15 minutes later. Stiles got out of the car and silently opened the back door to get Scott out of his booster seat just as Scott started to stir in his sleep. Once Stiles had Scott cradled in his arms he looked down to see him rubbing his eyes with little fists while trying to stay awake.

"Morning pup." He whispered as Scott snuggled up against his embrace.

"You can keep sleeping okay, I brought a blanket just in case." Stiles murmured nuzzling Scott's cheek.

The pup just gave a content sigh before muttering, "Love you mommy." while Stiles combed his fingers through Scott's hair with a fond smile.

"Love you too pup." he replied, gently stoke the little boy's hair as he made his way towards his classroom.

 

* * *

 

         Isaac was sleeping blissfully in his room when his head jerks up to the sound of the door bursting open as a frantic Erica enters his room.

"Oh my god Isaac wake up! Derek is going to kill us!" The little boy rubs his eyes, still in a sleepy daze.

"Erica wha-"

"We don't have time for this! Get dressed, we need to be in the car like NOW!" The older blonde said as she stomped to his closet and got the first pieces of clothing she could find.

"Here." she said handing him a grey T-shirt, black jeans, and a pair of high tops.

"Put these on, Boyd is making breakfast but you'll have to eat it in the car if you don't want to be late." With that she turned around and practically ran out of the room. 

When Isaac finished dressing he made his way to the kitchen where he found Boyd packing their lunches at a hurried pace.

He didn't know what all the fuss was about but his confusion quickly vanished when he saw the time. It was 8:30 in the morning, meaning they had less than 10 minutes left to get out of the house without risk of being late for the first day of school. 

Boyd finishes packing the lunches and practically flew out the door on his way to the car with everyone's bags. Soon after Erica came running down the stairs while trying to put on her red lipstick.

She was wearing a black mini skirt with a white blouse, leather jacket, and heels. It was a miracle she could walk in that outfit, let alone run.

"Let's go Isaac!" She yelled while grabbing his arm and dragging him out of their house.

"We can't be late!!!"

Five minutes into the drive to school Isaac was getting anxious. He's never gone to an actual school before so he doesn't know what to expect, he's asked Boyd and Erica about their school but he was still nervous. As he looked out the window he felt his thoughts slowly take over his mind.

Will the other kids like him? Will he like them?? Is the teacher going to be nice? Maybe the teacher won't like him. What if they don't like werewolves?!? Is the school big? Are there a lot of big kids in his school too? Will-

A hand started to ruffle his hair cutting off his internal monologue as he glanced up to see Boyd giving him a small smile through the rear view mirror.

"Calm down Isaac you'll be fine." Beside him, Erica looked over her shoulder to glance at Isaac with an enthusiastic smile on her face.

"Yeah Isaac, no need to stress over anything, everything will turn out great for you today pup." She exclaimed quickly before turning back to her handheld mirror to continue applying the finishing touches of her makeup.

"Okay... if you say so.." He whispered as his mind kept swirling ideas of what will happen to him in the next couple of hours. 

When they arrived at the school Erica and Boyd jumped out of the car and opened the back door for him. They brought him to the entrance of the school before Erica suddenly stopped in her tracks. When Isaac looked back he saw the blonde with her phone in her hands and eyes the size of saucers.

"Fuck." Erica cursed under her breath as she grabbed Boyds hand.

"It's 8:50, Boyd we need to be sitting in our first period class in 10 minutes!!" and just like that Isaac found himself standing in the middle of the crowded hallway. Alone.

He tried to use his senses to help him locate his classroom but he just couldn't focus long enough to do so. Everything was so loud. Feet stomping on the ground as the many parents accompanying their children pass by him in a flash, fast racing heart beats everywhere he turned, people talking with their children and asking for directions, kids screaming and all the different smells all around him. It was just too much, he couldn't take it!

His chest rose rapidly with every second that passed by. His nostrils flaring with every forced exhale, wide panicked eyes darted all over the place. Leaning back on the wall, he crouched down and pulled his knees up to his chest, quiet sobs shaking his body. Clenching his eyes shut he tried taking deep breaths.

Eventually, Isaac hears a voice very close to him. The words sounded muffled as if he was the one being spoken to but he couldn't make out the words being said. There were too many things going on around him to focus on anything. Strong comforting arms craddled and sorrounded him in wamth, and surely, his heart rate slowly evened out.

He knows now that the person is talking to him but he can't focus enough to hear clearly, he's too overwhelmed and he just wants to stay in this soft embrace forever as he feels gentle hands travel up and down his back soothingly.

When Isaac finally calms down he's surprise to see that he's been clinging onto his rescuer like a life line. Despite himself he doesn't loosen his grip on the man, if anything, he holds on tighter afraid to be left alone again.

The man doesn't seem to be bothered by his behavior if the way he continues to trace up and down his back gently is any indication.

"What's your name little guy?" He hears a gentle sweet voice whisper and it's then that he realizes that he's being asked a question.

"Isaac." he says with a sniffle and a few hiccuping sobs.

"Isaac Hale?" The fact that the mole covered man knows who he is startled him a bit but he doesn't make any move to break or loosen the embrace. Isaac simply nods his head in reply.

The man loosens his hold a little bit to be able to look at his face as he gives him a bright smile.

"Hey Isaac, it's nice to meet you. I'm Mr. Stilinski but you can just call me Stiles. I'll be your teacher for this year."

Isaac looks up at Stiles with a shy smile before nuzzling back in his arms feeling relief flowed over him as Stiles tightens his grip back to how it was before and quietly carries him to the classroom.

 

* * *

 

To say that Derek was nervous was an understatement. His nerves were fried and overworked. So he decided to focus fully on his work to distract him from his mind's insistant worrying.

He was looking over files from the new case they received this morning. Apparently they had gotten a report of domestic violence from a neighbor but without any evidence and no other witnesses to step forward they can't obtain a warrant for further investigation.

Derek can't help but hate these type of cases. He just can't understand how a Dom can abuse their Sub in any way, shape, or form. A Dom's job is to care for his Sub and keep them safe and protected under all circumstances.

What makes this case even worse though has to be the fact that the neighborhood has no surveillance systems wantsoever. They can't get any information on the case other than what the witness has already explained but the fact that the witness has never actually seen the Sub close enough as to give a description isn't very helpful. This case is going cold very fast. Not only do they not have enough evidence but they don't even know who the Sub _is_.

It's times like these that Derek feels most lonely. He just has this urge to protect and care for his Sub so that they know they will never experience anything remotely similar to these cases. However he has no Sub to do those things with. He doesn't have someone to love and to cherish no matter how badly he yearns for it.

Soon after being called to dismiss the case and file it under ' **cold** **case** ' he starts making his way to his Camaro seeing as his shift has ended. 

When he reaches the school he is astonished to see such a large group of people gathered around a single classroom. He notices that the plate above the door frame reads room 54.

That's Isaac's class. 

As he carefully makes his way through the crowd of people he understands why everyone is clumped together in front of the classroom.

Standing before him is undoubtedly the most attractive guy he's ever seen. His face was the most perfect mix of elegance and boyish charm, his features expressing a sort of unconventional beauty he hasn't seen before- however gorgeous all the same. His hair is sticking out in all directions but somehow manages to look so soft that he just wants to reach out and run his fingers through it all day. His eyes are a warm shade of honey brown or like warm wiskey that is practically bursting with life and energy.

He had a lean figure, sinewy muscles winking at him everytime he involuntarily flexed. His back muscles being very well displayed by those skinny jeans he's wearing, is it even allowed to look so good in jeans and a long sleeved T-shirt without using some kind of spell? And those lips. Oh god those lips that are the perfect shade of light pink chirled into the most dazzling smiles he's ever seen.

"Der!" Derek is snapped out of his daze by Isaac running into his left leg.

"Hey Isaac where's your teacher? I want to speak with them for a moment." he says as he crouches down to Isaac's level. Isaac let's out a giggle in response as if Derek has just told a joke. Derek can't help but furrow his brow in confusion until Isaac points in the direction of the attractive guy and proudly states,

"That's my teacher!"

Perfect... Just perfect..... he has a crush on his son's 2nd grade teacher. 

Derek makes his way past the front of the crowd with Isaac close behind him. Once he reaches the front of the crowd he feels Isaac leave his side and is dumbstruck by the sight before him.

Isaac just jumped into the teacher's arms as if it was the most natural thing in the world as the man's strong arms enclosed his small frame in a soft embrace as Isaac talked about how much fun he had today in class.

It took Derek a few seconds to comprehend what was going on before remembering the reason for him coming to the front of the line in the first place. He cleared his throat as he walked over to the teacher.

Then Derek was stopped in his tracks as the smell of tears. Not just any tears either but _Isaac's_ tears. The smell was faded but still present enough to make it clear these weren't just one or two tear drops. Filled with renewed purpose he quickly went over to the other man.

"What is the meaning of this?" Derek all but snarled.

The younger man furrowed his brow in confusion at his behavior. "I don't understand what y-"

"I made it very clear to the school that if _ANYTHING_ happened I would be informed immediately. Judging from the smell of my son's tears in the air I don't think you followed through with that requirement." Derek growled.

The man's heartbeat skyrocketed but his face nor his smell gave away the reason why. "Mr. Hale I'll have you know that I handled the situation quickly and efficiently-"

"That doesn't give you the right to keep this information from me." He can feel his eyes glow red but the fact that the man's smell remained the same and his face gave nothing away made him even more frustrated.

"As I was saying Mr. Hale," the man's eyes narrowed but his voice was calm and didn't falter. "Isaac was crying in the hallway on the other side of the school. It seems his enhance senses couldn't take so many smells and sounds at once. When I found him I instantly did everything in my power to calm him down and when he eventually told me his name I discovered he was one of my students."

His eyes narrowed even further as his face turned sturn.

"This situation could have been easily avoided if Isaac was simply guided to the classroom by you or anyone else Isaac is comfortable with. I didn't contact you because once we reached the classroom Isaac had already fully recovered from his little episode and seeing as it was before school started it is not considered a school related issue." He explained as he set Isaac back down.

Derek didn't know how to respond to that. The man clearly knew what he was doing and he obviously considered all the events afterward. He can still feel his eyes shinning a bright red and a scowl set on his face. However the other man didn't falter in anyway.

 His heart rate was still set in an aggressive rate but the man's scent didn't change in the slightest. Scent blockers, he guessed.

"Daddy!!"

The other man's face changed so fast Derek didn't even have time to process it before a little boy leaped in the air landing directly in the teacher's arms. The older man's face lit up with a fond smile as he nuzzles the little boy's head. The small boy rubbed his nose against his father's neck.

Scent marking. They must he werewolves or maybe another type of supernatural but they definitely weren't human even if neither of their scents gave any hints as to what. They must both be using scent blockers. Derek doesn't really understand why that irritates him so much.

"Daddy you won't believe it!! Auntie Lydia is my math teacher! But she told me to call her Ms. Martin during class like the other kids." The little boy went off on a rant about his entire day not bothered by the fact that there are still a lot of parents picking up their kids.

The teacher didn't take his attention off the boy in his arms as he made sure all the students were accounted for and offered a kind smile as the parents stepped up to pick up their children one by one.

Despite what just happened between him and the teacher Derek can't help but be fascinated by the way the other man takes everything the little boy is saying very seriously, giving small commentary on some parts of the kid's story.

It isn't until the little boy turns to look at him that he notices he's been staring the whole time.

"Daddy, why is he looking at us like that?"

And just like that Derek realizes his eyes are still a bright red. From the way the other man's heart beat escalated he didn't notice either. At this the boy's eyes turned a brilliant yellow and his face morphed into an enraged expression.

"Don't look at daddy like that!" he growled while tightening his hold around the other man's neck keeping his yellow orbs at Derek menacingly.

The man looked at his child in disbelief.

"Scott Alexander Stilinski! We don't talk to people like that." but the boy didn't take his eyes off Derek.

"But he's-"

"No buts. We don't speak to people that way pup. I thought you knew that by now." The little boy's eyes immediately changed back into their original chocolate brown.

It appears that instantaneous face changes runs in the family because one second the child's face looks murderous at Derek's direction and the next he's looking at his father's face looking like a kicked puppy.

"I'm sorry!" The little boy bursts into tears. "I'm sorry daddy! I won't do it again I promise! Please daddy I'm sorry!"

The man just let the small child bury his head into his neck while rubbing soothing circles up and down the child's back.

"I'm glad to hear you say that but I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." he whispered

The boy slowly lifted his head from where it's been hiding in the other's neck to look at Derek again. His eyes were puffy and some tears were still falling down the boy's face.

"Scott this is Mr. Hale, he's Isaac's dad." Scott briefly looked at Isaac who has been standing in the same spot the teacher had set him down the entire time before returning his gaze to Derek.

"I'm sorry I growled at you." His voice sounded so tiny and unsure compared to the defensive tone he held just a moment ago that Derek felt like his heart was melting. 

He doesn't even remember when his eyes turned back into their usual green. Derek nodded in acknowledgment as Scott hid his face into his dad's neck once again.

The man rolled his eyes affectionately before flashing one of those perfect smiles at Isaac.

"It was a pleasure meeting you Isaac. I can tell we're going to have a lot of fun this year, I'll see you tomorrow right?"

"Right." Isaac answered with a sharp nod. Isaac ran over to Derek's side as they left the classroom.

The ride back home was quiet. Derek can smell the guilt rolling off of Isaac in the back seat but he simply waits it out for Isaac to tell him what's going on.

"Der?" He hears Isaac's voice say cautiously.

"Hmm?" Isaac looks up at him from his seat tugging at his shirt sleeve nervously.

"Why were you so mean to Stiles?" He said shyly.

"Stiles?" What kind of name is that?

Isaac seemed to have sensed his confusion because he continued to speak.

"My teacher. Why were you mean to him? He didn't do anything wrong... He.. He helped me. I was scared and I.... Stiles found me and he was nice to me. He didn't get mad or annoyed when I didn't answer his questions. I couldn't focus on anything when so many things were going on at the same time.. He held me and said things to calm me down and he didn't force me to talk or anything... Then he walked me to class and told me he was going to be my teacher... I'm really happy Stiles is my teacher... And I don't understand why you were so mean to him for no reason.."

Derek could smell the confusion that Isaac was experiencing and he honestly didn't have an answer for his question. He doesn't lose control that easily. He doesn't get why he was so quick to lash out at Stiles but one thing he knew for certain. Stiles wasn't the one at fault.

If he'd been there to escort Isaac to his class that would had never happened. Derek knew that Erica and Boyd would most likely be in a rush to get to school but he never thought they would just drop Isaac off in the middle of the hallway. They are going to seriously regret that decision when they get home. He can't believe they did that to Isaac and he sure as hell will make it very clear that what happened today won't ever be repeated again.

He'll also have to apologize to Stiles for the way he acted. Stiles was only doing what he saw was appropriate for the situation. He knew what was expected of him and he was very well informed of the schoolboard protocols and regulations.

Isaac will be in good hands this year, that Derek can be sure of. He can tell Stiles is a good teacher and has the student's safety as his top priority.

Stiles..... Why does that name sound so familiar?


	2. Impossible

Later on in the day after the whole fiasco afterschool, Stiles found himself in the kitchen of his dad's house making dinner while Scott and his dad watched some old batman cartoons in the living room.

He always tries to spend every Monday, Wednesday and Sunday at his dad's house to make sure he's eating well- his father has a nasty habit of stuffing himself full of donuts and cholesterol when Stiles isn't watching- but in all honesty, Stiles just enjoys watching his dad play with Scottie. He knows his dad has been pretty lonely since he moved out to attend college and Scott just loves being with him, so, Stiles tries to come over on a regular bases.

Just as Stiles is setting up the dinning table his phone buzzes.

 **Theo:**  come to my house.

Stiles doesn't even bother to send a response, he just grabs his stuff and rushes over to the living room.

"Dad I finished making dinner, I wanted to stay but something came up. Take care of Scott while I'm gone and watch your cholestoral old man! I'll know if you threw away your vegetables, I'll be back later."

He doesn't wait for his dad to reply with some smart remark as he runs out of the house to his jeep. He put his car into drive and pulled out of his dad's driveway. The moon was waning at the moment and the sky was practically just cliche doom-and-gloom.

What could Theo possibly want?

Stiles started chewing his nail. The trees eventually thinned the closer Stiles drove into the woods and closer to the towns borders, towards Theo's house. That classic cabin in the woods kind of big bad wolf.  

Before he knew it, Stiles was parking in front of Theo's house with his heart practically vibrating in place. He took a minute to calm his nerves before sliding out of his jeep and heading towards the front door of the cabin. Quickly knocking on the door, Stiles steps back and bows his head, keeping his eyes downward and his hands in front of him clenched. He's greeted by an unexpected sight.... And smell.

Theo is standing in front of him sweating, panting, and with an extremely noticeable hard on..... He's in rut. The pheremones hit him all at once.

Theo's musk was too hot and dry for his nostrils. It felt like sandpaper against pores but he stood still until Theo told him otherwise. 'Like a good little sub.' recited Stiles in his head.

He felt Theo latch onto his upper arms, yanking him inside and slamming the door behind him.

"Theo please wh-" Stiles was cut off by Theo capturing his lips into a bruising kiss. The kiss was rough, unpleasant and lustful. Complimented well by Theo encasing him against the wall.

When Theo finally broke off the sloppy kiss, Stiles was gasping for breath. Stiles was trying to calm his racing heart and keep the tears at bay when he locked eyes with the Dom in front of him. He looked absolutely murderous and blood thirsty.

Stiles could practically picture it now, a tiny thin white fur rug in front of his fireplace where he wiped his boots on every morning until it got dirty and ugly and was eventually thrown away. Not like that's anything new though, considering who Stiles is dealing with.

'Thanks brain, I definately needed that image in my head now of all times.' Stiles barked at his subconscious.

Stiles knew he must have done something wrong in order for his Dom to be glaring at him with those icy blue eyes filled with anger and frustration.

Stiles felt fear bubbling up in his throat. Theo was extremely harsh when it came to disciplining Stiles as his Sub. His punishments were torturous and he made sure that Stiles remembered his mistake for weeks to come afterward, and he simply hated punishment.

No matter what Stiles did or tried, he always ended up screwing things up with Theo. Stiles lowered his gaze to the floor meekly squeaking out apologies until a hand griped his chin hard enough to bruise. Theo's rough hold forced Stiles to look at Theo's angry eyes once more. 

"You're not in pseudo sub heat." Theo growled out practically shaking with anger.

"My heat isn't supposed to start f-for another 2 months." Stiles couldn't keep the waver out of his voice through the haze of terror he was experiencing, he knew that Theo hated when he stuttered more than practically anything. It was one of Theo's rules;

**"Never stutter in my presence. It annoys me more than you could ever imagine, besides a pretty little mouth like yours should have better things to do anyway."**

The Dom's eyes narrowed at the trembling Sub in front of him.

"That shouldn't matter!! When a Dom goes into rut, their Sub should instantaneously go into heat to be able to please their Dom! So tell me," he gripped Stiles by his hair. "why aren't you in heat yet?"

Theo was getting angrier by the minute for no words could escape Stiles throat but whimpers of pain. Stiles' brain was frozen from sheer terror but he had to say something!

Anything to ease his anger or ... Or... Or _something_! Theo looked like he was about to strangle him at the moment so, naturally, his suicidal brain decided to go on a vacation and let his stupid mouth do all the thinking for it.

"Well you know that's not always the case. I've always been known for being a late bloomer and stuff so maybe it doesn't take effect until later, so, yeah, and you haven't claimed me either so that could also affect-" It was in that moment that Stiles wondered what the fuck he did in his past life in order for him to deserve this. He just had to be born with a dysfunctional brain-to-mouth filter that was always getting him in unnecessary trouble. 

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER!!!! If the emotional bond is strong enough then the fact of whether or not a Dom and Sub have claimed each other shouldn't matter at all!!" Theo snarled. His chest heaved and his nostrils flared. He stomped over to Stiles and Stiles flinched, unconsciously clenching his eyes shut.

A gentle but rough hand stroked his face. "Don't you love me anymore Stiles?" Stiles automatically opened his eyes to gaze at Theo.

"Of course I love you." Stiles whispered completely captivated by his Dom's eyes. His large very expressive dark blue eyes, they swirled in to his icy blue irises and swirled over and over and over again, completely putting him in a trance. A warmth was placed over Stiles body and he felt himself respond without his say. There was a small flicker of relief that passed through Theo's eyes before his gaze turned stern and icy again, turning his back to the Sub in front of him, Theo started pacing through the living room. Stiles fought for control over himself again while Theo thought over whatever he had planned.

After a minute or two, he could twitch his fingers again and felt himself slide right back into his body.

'Damn his eyes and whatever witch that cursed him.' Stiles snarled. Sooner than Stiles could get his brain to formulate words Theo froze midstride while a look of determination settled his face.

Getting a firm grip of Stiles' arm, Theo grabbed his phone from his back pocket and dialed a number all the while hauling Stiles upstairs. Stiles tried to struggle but the grip on his arm is too strong. Eventually they arrived at a musty smelling attic, Theo dragged him further into the attic all the while chatting up the person on the other line.

Hanging up, Theo tied Stiles to the iron bars hanging from the ceiling. It somehow managed to get impossibly tighter every time Stiles attempted to struggle, the metal chains dug into the skin of his wrists with every frantic pull he could manage.

"Theo what... what are you doing?" Stiles finally spoke in a quivering voice when Theo made the final tug on the chains tied painfully around his wrists.

"I am going to teach you how to please me." Theo answered before swiftly exiting the room. 

Stiles sat on the floor dumbfounded for a few moments, trying to think of what his Dom could have meant by that when he heard a car park in the drive way. A second later the door opened and Stiles heard moans and things slamming on the floor.

No, no this can't be happening! Stiles knew that Theo usually smells of different Subs when he gets out of rut but he would always blow it off as if it was nothing. Theo couldn't possible be satisfying himself with other Subs; he just couldn't!!

If his Dom needs to be with other Subs because he can't get what he needs from Stiles then that means he failed as a Sub. A Sub's job is to please their Dom and if Stiles can't do that in the most basic sense then what kind of a Sub is he? 

He hears all the moans and grunts Theo was producing with that other Sub downstairs and Stiles can't help but feel completely distraught. He isn't the one pleasing his Dom, how could he be so worthless? It's the Sub Theo is with that's pleasing him and providing him with what a Dom needs.

It's absolute torture for Stiles to be in the same house as this is going on. He can hear all the sounds Theo and that other Sub are making, he can smell the arousal thick in the air with every breath, and he knows that this is meant to be a lesson. Something to help him learn how to please his Dom but he can't help but think of this as a punishment for not being a good enough Sub. A punishment for not doing as his Dom says. A punishment for being useless...

The loud moans stop resonating through the house so it must mean that Theo is sated for a few minutes before his rut starts up again.

"You know," Stiles hears a seductive female voice say coming from downstairs. "you can call me anytime you want. Not just for your rut." Stiles waits anxiously for Theo to refuse even though the odds of that happening were slim to none.

"Mmm I think I'll take you up on that sometime."

The sounds started up again- the grunts, the moans, the smashing, the slapping of skin against skin... but Stiles couldn't really hear any of it. The noised were muffled out and his thoughts seemed much louder than any outside noise.

Theo's words repeated again and again in his head. He couldn't believe- no he could, he really fucking could believe that Theo would do this in order to meet his needs. What Stiles couldn't believe was that he really was useless to any Dom.

Stiles couldn't take it anymore. Every second he stayed in this house, the more self-loathing thoughts bubbled in his head. How much of a failure of a Sub is he truly, compared to other subs?

He needed to get out. It didn't matter that Theo told him this was a lesson. Stiles needed to get out of there, he has to get as far away from this god forsaken house as he can.

He took a deep breath and tried to push back the panic attack that clawed up his throat. Stiles closed his eyes as he made his mind go blank and allowed the fox to take shelter in his being. 

When he opened his eyes, he slipped his tiny white paw through the cuffs and sprinted towards the window. It took several tries but he finally managed to open the window enough for his small body to squeeze through. Luckily enough, Stiles was able to land from the two-story drop on all fours without dying before continuing to sprint past the trees in the direction of his dad's house. Stiles could always come back for his precious jeep tomorrow morning when Theo's rut is in full swing.

Stiles dashed through the forest with his limber fox body. Darting and dashing through and around trees, over follen logs. Stiles inherited his marble fox status from his mother and while marble foxes might be smaller than most, they're definitely faster than the rest of the fox species, add the supernatural speed of a were and you've got one of the fastest animals in the planet.

The moon was already at its highest peak when Stiles made it back to his father's house. He smoothly shifted back before he quietly stepped into the house knowing that both his father and pup were sound asleep by now.

Stiles entered the bathroom as he started to strip off his clothes and slipped into the shower. The scorching hot water did wonders for his sore muscles but it unfortunately didn't have the same effect on his mind.

All the emotions he has been trying to push back into his subconscious hit him full force and sooner than Stiles would ever admit he found himself leaning against the shower wall holding onto his knees tightly as gut wrenching sobs left his lips.

He doesn't know how long he's been in the shower but eventually Stiles gets out with his hair damp and a towel wrapped around his hips on his way to his room.

When Stiles opened the door, he found Scott in his bed; clutching his pillow for dear life while he cocooned himself in one of Stiles' old blankets.The sight was enough to make the events of today completely irrelevant.

Stiles puts on some clean briefs along with one of his flannel pajama pants before making his way towards the bed. He untangles Scott from his makeshift cocoon gently, all the while maneuvering himself under the sheets so that he could curl protectively around his pup.

Scott snuggles closer to his bare chest, seeking warmth, comfort, and pack. Werefoxes don't have such a structured definition of pack as werewolves do but that doesn't mean Stiles could ever dream of starving him of that.

Instead of having Alpha, Beta, Omega dynamics the werefoxes organize themselves as either King, Prince, Hunter, or Scavenger categories in the hierarchy but they know who their chosen "pack" is. The people they protect, love, care for, stand by, and comfort. For Stiles, pack is family.

In this moment, with his pup held securely in his arms, Stiles couldn't care less what happens to him. As long as his little wolf is safe and sound in his embrace he'll be fine. Stiles released a content sigh when Scott nuzzled into the crook of his neck as and his little arms encircled around his neck tightly, trying to get even closer to him.

"Mommy." Scott whimpers as he cuddles closer to Stiles.

"Shhh," Stiles sooths while his fingers instinctively find their way to Scotts hair. "I'm here pup," he places a kiss on Scott's forehead while he keeps stroking the pup's hair tenderly. "I'm here."

Scott doesn't loosen his grip but he visibly relaxes at Stiles' words.

Stiles falls asleep like that. With his little wolf safely in his arms, holding onto him tightly, his face hidden in the crook of his neck, taking deep breaths of his scent as he runs his fingers through his pup's unruly brown hair.

 

* * *

  

Derek was in his office trying to finish analyzing all the evidence for the domestic abuse case once more. He had already put everything in the cold case folder before his shift ended but he just couldn't wrap his head around the case for some reason. He felt like he needed to solve it more than anything else in the world. Derek always had a soft spot for these cases, however, even then, he felt like this case was different- like if he doesn't solve it soon he's going to seriously regret it.

Derek felt the tip of his ear tingle and he knew before it rung out, that his phone would ring.  The ringtone for his phone buzzed out menacingly on his desk. It buzzed and he contemplated just ignoring but threw that idea out the window by the caller's persistence. Derek looked at the caller ID and wasn't surprised when Kira's picture appeared on the screen.

"Hey Kira." He said and somehow couldn't stop his frustration from seeping through his voice.

"What's got your panties all twisted?"

"Very funny Kira, I'm gasping for air." Derek huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, skimming through the case once more. "It's this case I'm dealing with, I have a bad feeling about it."

"What case?" Kira sounded generally curious to hear him and Derek was- while he'd deny ever thinking this- glad to have her as a friend. He never says it out loud but Kira's the only person he knows that listens to his problems other than his mother.

"It's a domestic abuse report we got this morning, the thing that has us stumped is that we can't get any evidence so the case is running cold." Derek explained with a sigh.

"Domestic abuse huh? I'm sorry to hear that Derek, I know how much you hate working those cases but if it's a cold case there's really nothing more you can do." Derek nearly winced when he heard the sympathy in her voice and he couldn't believe he was getting so worked up over a cold case. Its just a case like any other- But still, there's just something about it that grips his chest with fear.

"I know it's just," He let's a heavy sigh escape his lips and he pinches the bridge of his nose "never mind. I'm probably over thinking things. Anyway, how are you?" 

"Pretty good actually, the café is doing better than I thought it would and profits are going through the roof!! Enough about me though, how was Isaac's first day?" 

Derek groaned at the reminder of his horrible attempt to speak with the attractive teacher.

"I really don't want to think about that right now." He said as he rubbed his hands over his face.

"What happened?" Derek heard the panic in her voice through the phone as she spoke. "Did something happen to Isaac? Is he alright? Did he shift?? Were the other kids mean to him? Did the teacher not know what to do when-"

"No nothing like that..." Derek rushed out before the woman popped a vein.

"Isaac said he had fun in class and that his teacher was 'the coolest most amazing teacher in the history of teachers to ever walk the earth ever' or somthing like that. He was talking really fast." Derek didn't hear anything for a few seconds and he really couldn't pieve what she was thinking at the moment. 

"Then what's wrong?" Derek took a deep breath in as he told her what happened today. Everything. After a few minutes of explaining what happened, he sat back on his chair and waited for Kira to finish processing everything that was said.

"So, what you're saying is, Isaac's teacher is hot?" Derek caught the way her voice turned smug. He didn't like it one bit.

"I never said that." He deadpanned

"Derek. You spent 5 minutes talking about his eyes. His  _eyes_  Derek!" she sighs before continuing "You've got it  _bad_."

 Derek buries his face in his hands groaning. "I know, I know. What am I going to do?"

This is the first time he's felt this way about someone in a long long time. Especially someone he doesn't even know- someone who is passionate, caring, intellectual, and  _beautiful_.

"Well you can't ask him out seeing as you just met him and judging by what you've told me, it doesn't seem like you two hit it off just yet."

Derek hardly managed to contain the utter urge to roll his eyes like a teenager again.

"Start with apologizing. You're going to have to do it sooner or later if you plan on getting in his pants." Derek choked- he literally choked on air. He did not expect that last response. He was really not expecting that. He hardly knows the guy, never mind that he's Isaac's teacher! 

He could hear Kira laughing through the phone and he felt his cheeks flush from embarrassment.

"Kira." He growled out as she kept on laughing.

"Okay, okay. But seriously you should apologize to him before anything else." She still held that teasing tone in her voice but Derek just hid his face in his hands.

"You know I'm not good with words Kira."

"Oh trust me I'm well aware of your emotional constipation, but you should at least _try_ Derek. I don't want excuses, you wouldn't want me to tell your older sister would you? Much less your mother." and with that the call ended.

Yeah....

Try...

Easier said than done.

 

* * *

 

 Scott wakes up to find himself alone in the middle of the bed. His head snaps up from the pillow as he frantically searches throughout the room for Stiles. It isn't until a few seconds later that the young pup smells his mother's scent coming from the Kitchen.

The pup quickly scrambles off the bed and sleepily follows Stiles' scent. When Scott reaches the kitchen, he groggily stalks over to Stiles and makes grabby hands to be picked up. 

Once Scott is in his mom's embrace he instantly nuzzles his head into the crook between Stiles' neck and shoulder. Scott breaths in his scent and hums happily when he feels Stiles scent mark him in return.

"Morning Scottie." He hears Stiles whisper as the older man stokes his hair unconsciously.

"Mmmm." Scott mumbled as sleep creeped up on him again. Stiles huffed a small laugh at his antics but didn't stop their daily morning snuggles before making his way back to his room. Scott felt like he was being lowered when they entered the room, so, he tightened his grip on Stiles and buried his head into his mom's neck.

Stiles chuckled before stating, "Pup, you need to let go for a few seconds so I can put on some clothes." and continuing to try and pry the little wolf off of him.

"No." Scott murmured tightening his grip around Stiles' neck.

"I'll give you anything you want for breakfast if you let go for 2 minutes." Stiles declared in an amused tone, clearly being entertained by his pup's behavior.

Scott stays quiet for a moment before asking, "Can we have hot chocolate?" without moving his head from its current hiding spot between Stiles' neck and shoulder.

Stiles rolls his eyes fondly at his pup as he replays, "Yes, we can get hot chocolate."

"From that cool new café?" Scott asks in a hushed tone as Stiles just snorts and nods his head.

"Sure pup we can get hot chocolate from that cool new café." Stiles responded as he gently laid Scott back under the bed sheets. Scott heard soft ruffling as Stiles got dressed and it wasn't long until he felt warm, strong arms surrounding him again. Scott let the scent of his mom envelope him in a secure little bubble.

"Scott," Scott heard the soft voice of his mom say near his ear.

"Remember the rule?" Scott lazily nodded his head at the question.

"Can you tell me what the rule is sweetie?" The tender voice asked as hands slowly flowed through his hair.

"Call you mommy when we're a'one, call you daddy when o'er people are 'round" Scott recited as he cuddled deeper into his mommy's scent.

"That's my smart little pup." Stiles praised sweetly while kissing the top of the pup's sleepy head.

  Scott was distantly aware of changing out of his PJs and being helped into his car seat shortly afterward but the pup just let the comforting smell of his mom sooth him back to a blissful slumber.

Scott heard the car door open and let Stiles swiftly maneuver him out of his car seat as he tries to make his way back into the older man's embrace. Scott sleepily balls his hands into fists and tries to rub the sleep from his eyes.

The pup is left blinking owlishly afterward and looks up to see an affectionate smile plastered on his mother's lips.

Stiles closes the car door when he's certain that Scott is resting securely in his caress and starts making his way to the front doors of the café.

As they entered, Scott was hit by a plethora of new smells. The different coffee beans, the variety of menu items the café offers for breakfast, the cluster of people, the paints used on the walls, the furniture arranged throughout the shop, and the different air fresheners attacked the young pup's noise.

It wasn't necessarily a  _bad_  smell but it was too overwhelming for the pup, so, Scott dug his nose into Stiles' neck and took deep breaths of the familiar and welcoming scent to calm him in the new environment.

Stiles ran a hand up and down soothingly on his little pup's back in an effort to ease the tension on Scott's shoulders as the boy anchored himself.

After a few moments Scott caught onto a familiar smell that wasn't his mother's... He just couldn't place it. He'd definitely smelled it before but not enough to recognize who the scent belonged to.

"STILES!!!"

Scott snapped his head up from where it had been previously hidden in Stiles' neck and looked down to see Isaac hugging Stiles' leg. Scott usually doesn't like other weres touching his mom like that but Stiles explained what happened yesterday with Isaac on the drive back home.

It's no wonder the boy felt safe and comfortable with Stiles, and Scott didn't think Isaac was that bad. In fact, he kind of liked him even if he couldn't help but be a bit wary when he's around him. If Isaac was here so was that mean Dom that scared mommy.

Just as Scott had predicted, the Dom came up to them a second later. Surprisingly enough the Dom didn't even seem to notice them since his eyes were solely focused on Isaac.

"Sorry about that, I'm not sure what got into him." The Dom announced as he kneeled down to scoop Isaac up.

"Don't worry about it Mr. Hale." Stiles said dismissively causing the Dom to snap his head up in shock. He looked like he wanted to say something but a female voice resonated from behind him before he could get a word out.

"Derek, did you find Isaac?"

"Kira!" Isaac exclaimed as Derek lifted him up.

"Hey munchkin, where've you been?" She asked in a cheerful voice.

"Trying to find Stiles!" Isaac proclaimed with a bright smile on his face pointing at Stiles. Kira looked taken aback but turned to Scott and Stiles dispute the confusion on her features.

"I'm guessing you're Stiles then?" Kira said smiling sweetly at the pup in Stiles' arms.

Scott hid his head against his mom's neck again. The smells from the café were getting to him again and he felt a bit dazed. Stiles absentmindedly began to rub his pup's back as he gave the girl an easy going smile.

"Nope, this is my son, I'm Stiles and I also just so happen to be that little angel's teacher for this year." Stiles finished off with a charming and quirky smile directed at Isaac. The boy giggled when Stiles ruffled his golden curls. Kira seemed to have figured something out because realization blossomed on her face only to be quickly taken over by a look of mischief.

"So  _you're_  the teacher I've been hearing so much about." She said slyly with a predatory twinkle in her eye that Scott immediately wished wasn't directed at his mom. He clung tighter to Stiles and he didn't even notice the tiny prickle of claws latching onto Stiles' shirt.

Stiles instantly tightened his hold on his pup and his fingers slid through the little wolf's hair naturally.

"I've got to admit I didn't imagine you looking like this." Kira stated, surprise clear in her voice. Scott looked at Stiles' clothes.

He was wearing khaki pants with a white T-shirt and a dark blue sweater with his glasses and a grey beanie. Scott doesn't see what she means, Stiles wears stuff like this all the time. It seems that Stiles thought the same as he glanced at his clothes before fixing her with a confused look.

Kira chuckles as she corrects herself.

"I mean you just look so young, if I didn't know any better I'd say you are still in college finishing up your bachelors or something." Stiles snorts at that.

"Yeah I get that a lot actually. Total baby face right here." Stiles proclaims as he points to his face with his free hand before continuing.

"Don't get me wrong I'm only 22 but most people don't even think I'm old enough to legally drink." He finishes with a nonchalant laugh. 

Kira eyes him approvingly while smiling brightly at both of them. "I like you, you're funny and your boy is totally adorable! Speaking of which what's your name cutie?" Scott looks up at Stiles to find him with an encouraging smile on his face. 

"Scott." the pup answered with a shy smile.

Kira squealed. "Oh my god! You're the cutest thing ever! I'm not sure if that comes from Stiles or the Dom!" Scott scrunches up his face in confusion. No one ever talks about his 'dad' unless it's Stiles telling him a story about them in high school. Stiles was flustered by the comment, blushing profusely at the backhanded compliment and just a tad bit upset to be reminded of his past Domme.

"She um- Scott got his looks from my past Domme M-Malia but well, she's gone now so." Stiles shrugs but Scott didn't miss the way his voice slightly wavered when saying Malia's name. The pup knew that Malia has always been a touchy subject for his mom so Scott snuggles closer to Stiles in an effort to comfort him.

Kira seems to have realized she hit a delicate subject even with the scent blockers preventing her from smelling his slight sadness. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bring up a-" Stiles held up his hand for her to stop.

"It's fine, it was a long time ago anyway. Isaac did you do the homework I assigned yesterday?" Stiles said giving Isaac a knowing grin.

"Yep! And Derek didn't even help me, I did it all by myself!!" Scott glanced at Derek and by the looks of it, the quiet Dom didn't seem to have even  _known_  there was homework assigned.

"That's awesome Isaac! Do you know who's the student you're going to give it to yet?" Stiles said beaming down at the blonde.

"YEAH!! Oh that reminds me!" Isaac sprinted over to where his book bag was and quickly returned with a folded up piece of white paper.

"For you!" The energetic pup exclaimed as he handed over the little note to Scott.

Scott turned to briefly look at Stiles, who appeared to be completely flabbergasted by Isaac's strange choice since Scott wasn't even in Isaac's class to begin with. Scott accepted the folded letter tentatively from Isaac's outstretched hand.

When Scott opened up the note he was completely stunned when he read 'Will you be my friend?' written messily in blue crayon. Scott blinked and re-read it before his face split into a blinding grin.

"YES!!" Scott squealed as he lunged forward and hugged the older boy with all his might. The other pup was paralyzed for 0.2 seconds before he gleefully returned the bone crushing hug once he got over the initial shock.

"What just happened?" Derek, that had been awkwardly standing next to Kira for most of the conversation, finally spoke up. Stiles turned his gaze from the cuddle-fest the two pup's were having to Derek, giving him a bright smile.

"I always assign my students homework to write a question then give it to one of their peers the following class so they can learn a little bit about each other." Stiles glanced back at the snuggling duo with a fond smile.

"Isaac's the first to give it one to a student outside the class though." Stiles informed while returning his gaze to the Dom.

"You're doing a good job with him... he's lucky to have you." Stiles said in a near whisper that only got quieter with every word he said. 

The Dom was visibly stunned by the comment accompanied by a dazed look in his eyes.

"Y-yeah?" the uncomfortable and awkward look Derek has been sporting since the beginning of the conversation was instantaneously replaced by a breathtaking smile when Stiles nodded his head shyly with a small blush high on his cheeks.

Kira looked between the two of them with a sly smile plastered on her face.

"Daddy!" Scott said tugging on Stiles' hand.

"Yeah Scottie?" Stiles asked while picking up and cradling his pup in his arms again.

"Daddy when are we getting hot chocolate!? I haven't had hot chocolate in  _forever_." Scott announced exasperatedly as he slumped into Stiles' chest. Stiles just shook his head fondly at his pup while making his way to the line.

However, Kira stopped him in his tracks before he could reach it "just follow me" she insisted with a gentle grip on Stiles' hand, leading him to the kitchen behind the main register of the café. When they all entered the kitchen Kira instantly started working on making Scott's hot chocolate.

"Hey Stiles, do you want some hot chocolate too?" Kira said as she tried to find the mini marshmallows.

"No thanks I'll just make myself a Chai Tea Latte when I get to the school." Kira stopped and looked at Stiles in surprise for a few seconds.

"There's no need for that I know how to make it, it's just... not a very popular request" 

Stiles just shrugged nonchalantly. "My mom used to make it for me all the time when I was little, it was decaf obviously, but it would always calm me down. Plus it was her absolute favorite so she'd use any excuse to get my dad to let her make more." Scott could sense the sadness Stiles was experiencing but his face gave nothing away as he continued to smile cheekily at Kira. 

Kira chuckled, "Makes sense, one Chai Tea Latte coming right up!"

When both Scott and Stiles got their drinks, Stiles was taking out his wallet when the same gentle hand stopped him. He looked up to see Kira smiling at him.

"No need, it's on the house." Stiles was about to insist that he pay when he caught a glance at Kira's now stern expression and shut his mouth again.

"It was really nice meeting you Stiles, and you too Scott." she beamed, "But I need to get back to doing the tedious job of managing The Inari Café. Yay me." She sighed dramatically.

Once they all said their goodbyes Stiles and Scott made their way back to the jeep. Scott couldn't believe that Isaac wanted to be his friend and he also couldn't believe that throughout the enter encounter the mean Dom didn't scare mommy even once!

Maybe Derek isn't so bad?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow... Just wow.... I wasn't expecting for people to actually read my story this quickly. I have so much planned for this fic and don't worry I will not stop writing until I am finished with this story. Letting my readers down is the worst thing an author could do and I seriously don't want to ever experience that. I'll try to update regularly but I'm a sophmore in high school with a lot of college courses and extra curricular activities so my schedule is all over the place.
> 
> Also some of you have some questions regarding the plot and the legitimacy of Stiles and Scott's bloodline? everything will be explained at some point in the story so just sit tight and keep reading k? Hope you enjoy the story and please if you have any comments, critiques, or ideas I'd be happy to hear them ^ω^
> 
> P.S. my co-author is really into angst and when me and her come together we turn into evil little demons so I'm sorry if we punch you in the feelz during some scenes. However, I have an important queation to ask all of you.
> 
> What did you guys think of Theo???


	3. Just a Dream

   Shortly after their encounter in the café, Stiles and Scott make it to Stiles' classroom with 30 minutes to spare before the school officially opens.

Stiles was sitting at his desk trying to finish up the last few details for his lesson plan while Scott was nearly done with his hot chocolate. When Stiles was done with all the finishing touches for his class, he stood up and made his way over to the teacher's lounge for a very deserved rest with Scott following close behind him.

 Just as Stiles sat down on the comfy couch with Scott curled on his lap, Lydia walked through the large double door of the teacher's lounge.

"Good morning Stiles." The red-haired beauty says making her way to the coffee machine.

"Morning Lyds, I see you're looking gorgeous as always." Stiles muttered tiredly, eyeing the breathtaking goddess.  She was wearing a semi-short floral dress, high heeled boots and her soft strawberry locks were intricately woven into a fishtail braid.

"Obviously." She scoffed, smirking at the comment. The redhead took one glance at Stiles outfit before an arrogant, triumphant smile graced her face.

  
"I see you're wearing one of the outfits I had picked out for you again."

  
Stiles just glared at her, "Of course I am, you threw away all my clothes during our first year of college together!! The only clothes I have that you haven't thrown out are my pajamas! And you won't even let me go shopping without you just in case I 'go back to my old démodé ways' what the hell is that supposed to mean anyway?"

Lydia met him with an icy glare of her own, "It means that when I first met you in college all I saw was ADONIS potential covered up in all those revolting layers of tastless plaid and worn down comic tees!"

Rolling her eyes she begin to rant, her cheeks turning the most complimenting shade of pastel pink from her fristrations.

"... Seriously Stiles if it wasn't for me taking you under my wing you  _still_  wouldn't be able to dress yourself correctly." She informed with a dignified huff as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"And besides," she drawled out with a calculated eyebrow lift.

"You like the outfits I throw together for you- and don't even try to deny it!" Lydia nodded to herself as if to reassure Stiles that she knew exactly what she was saying was true.... and she wasn't wrong.

Stiles chest deflated of all the sly remarks he was going to throw when he realized how right she was. With a victorious smirk sent towards Stiles, it looked more like a piranha zeroing in on it's prey. Stiles only grumbled bitterly in response.

Lydia rolled her eyes at his childish behavior, and exclaimed somewhat dramatically, "I'm going to have to buy you a new suit for the wedding anyway." And took a sip of her coffee.

"Another one?" Stiles whined- he really hated shopping.

"Yes another one. Did you really think I was going to let you be my maid of honor without wearing a suit that matched the color pallets of my wedding?" Lydia questioned with a look of horror painted on her face.

Stiles groaned "Lydia I can't be your maid of honor, I'm a guy-"

"Butler of honor then." She retorted dismissively. Stiles, however, continued on as if she hadn't interrupted him.

"and why does my suit have to match with the color pallet? It's not like everyone else has to be dressed in a specific color. Jackson's groomsmen aren't even wearing similar suits!! why do I have to match?"

Lydia just pet his head in an attempt to calm him down as she spoke, "You'll understand when you're older, sweetie."

Stiles was dumbstruck for a few seconds as her words sunk in only for his stunned silence to turn into flailing limbs as he opened and closed his mouth, gesturing wildly between himself and Lydia, searching for words to say to the switch in front of him.

"You're only a year older than me!!" Stiles finally yelled back lamely, causing Scott to burst into giggles which he had been trying to contain since the beginning of the argument.

 Lydia shook her head fondly at the Sub.

"Whatever you say Stiles."  She sighed melodramatically, making her way towards the couch to sit next to her best friend.

"How's Danny doing in your class?" Lydia asked conversationally.

"Well yesterday was only the first day but Danny's perspicacious so I have no doubt that he'll be in the top of the class." Lydia visibly preened at the praise of her little boy.

"Of course he is, blood related or not any child of mine is already intelligent." She stated proudly.

Stiles rolled his eyes and muttered sarcastically, "Clearly. Hoenestly, I'm not sure how any child raised by you could be anything short of a genius." 

Stiles chuckled softly at how Lydia smirked at the compliment.

"Hey Lyds, where is my little cutie with a bow and arrow?" He questioned remembering that he never got a chance to ask who Allison's teacher was this year.

"I left her and Danny with Jackson today; they should be here soon." Suddenly Lydia's face darkened.

"I don't like her teacher for this year though, I mean her teaching methods are fine but she's always complaining about Beacon Hills. Oh and whenever she compares Australia to here I just want to punch her in the face. If she misses Australia so much then why doesn't she just go back? It's not like anyone will miss her here anyway."

Stiles thought back to when he met all the second grade teachers trying to figure out which one Lydia was talking about.

"You mean Ms. Walker? The old loony wombat lady with the British accent?" Stiles asked the ranting redhead. He didn't really talk to her so he had no idea what Lydia was going on about.

"Oh _no_ not a British accent an Australian accent, because that's so much of a distinction!" Lydia's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "But whatever, as long as she doesn't corrupt my daughter's mind then there is no need for me to punish myself with her presents ever again."

Stiles laughed at Lydia's new found hate for Allison's teacher but quieted his laughter into silent chuckles when she kicked him off the couch, causing Scott to erupt into fits of laughter seconds later.

 Lydia got up from the couch and yanked Stiles up to his feet as she spoke, "The main doors will open in 5 minutes we better get to class before the students start getting here."

Lydia held her hand out for Scott, "Come on Scott time to get to class." Scott nodded his head and quickly made his way to hold the banshee's hand but just when she turned to leave the pup pulled back and ran toward Stiles again.

The pup leaped into his mother's arms and hugged Stiles tightly.

"Bye daddy, Love you!" Scott said as he nuzzled Stiles' neck.

Stiles smiled sweetly at his little wolf pup while saying "Love you too pup, now be good okay?"

Scott beamed at Stiles before answering "kay!"

Stiles chuckled and kissed Scott's cheek as he lowering the little pup back to the ground.

When Scott was safely on the floor again he hugged Stiles one last time before dashing over to Lydia and grabbing hold of her hand once more. Lydia cast a warm smile to Stiles as she and Scott made their way towards their class. Stiles started walking towards his classroom a few seconds after Scott and Lydia left the teacher's lounge.

Some of the students started arriving a couple of minutes after Stiles returned to his classroom. When Stiles was answering a few lingering questions and concerns from a handful of parents Stiles caught onto a familiar scent.

It smelled of rosemary and peppermint with a hint of grass mixed in there as well- Isaac.

The rambunctious blonde ran down the corridor and pounced on the unprepared teacher causing him to stumble a bit before regaining his balance. Similar to their little encounter at the café, Derek come up to them just a second later.

"Hey Mr. Hale fancy seeing you here." Stiles said with a blinding smile.

Derek simply crossed his arms over his chest with an overly dramatic eye roll but there was a ghost of a smirk placed on his lips that didn't escape Stiles' gaze. "I figured I'd walk Isaac to his class from now on." Derek stated almost bashfully.

"Wonder what genius came up with that one." Stiles grumbled under his breath as he started to check off all the kids that were arriving on his morning roster.

He heard the Dom sigh deeply but didn't move his eyes away from his clipboard as more students began to be dropped off.

"I- uh- I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Stiles jerked his head up to meet the Dom's eyes with an expression of pure shock from hearing the words that just left the alpha's mouth.

"For how I acted yesterday. I accused you of not fulfilling your responsibilities as a teacher without any proof or information on what really happened and I just lashed out at you for no reason. I'm sorry I was so disrespectful towards you, you don't deserve to be treated that way."

Stiles knew he was blushing. He could feel his cheeks burning up when he didn't hear Derek's heart falter during the entire declaration. He was not a hormonal teenager anymore damn it! He shouldn't be blushing just because Derek sex on legs Hale decides to be nice to him all of a sudden.

Seriously did he not know how incredibly alluring he is when he's wearing that leather jacket? And those jeans-  _Jesus_!

"Uh n-not really, um, you, uh, really didn't have to say all that. Honestly a simple 'sorry' would have sufficed so, uh, yeah, I mean- apology accepted?" Stiles nearly flinched when he heard the uncertainty in his own voice.

His mouth was about to start babbling again when he was thankfully interrupted by his favorite little brainiac.

"STILES!!!!"

A split second later Stiles found Danny in his arms squishing their faces together. Stiles couldn't resist the urge he always got to pamper the little boy with kisses and cuddles, so, he places sloppy kisses all over Danny's face until the boy was left giggling, squealing, and trying to wiggle his way out of his firm grip.

"Nooo! Stop!! Stiles let me go!" Danny shrieked between bursts of laughter.

"You've got to say it Danny." Stiles said with a mischievous spark in his eyes.

"NEVER!!" The giggling boy announced stubbornly.

Stiles just smiled sweetly at him for a moment before flipping him over so that he was now upside down with only Stiles' shoulders for support. Stiles started to tickle the poor boy mercilessly until he was only left with laughs and squeals of protest.

"Stop! I give up! You win, you win!!!" Stiles instantly flipped him back around so that Danny was perched on his hip again. Stiles felt his lips turn up into a triumphant grin when he saw Danny's flushed cheeks and goofy smile before setting the little boy on the ground.

When Stiles looks up he's not surprised to find that Derek had already left- not like it's the first time something like that has happened with a Dom- so, he swiftly beckoned the two boys inside the class while he finishes checking off last minute arrivals.

 

* * *

 

 Derek rushed out of the school. He knew his heart was starting to race when he saw Stiles interacting with the little boy -Danny- it was only a matter of time before Stiles noticed and things would become awkward between them.

Kira might have helped him find out if Stiles was taken already back in the café but that doesn't mean that Stiles wants a relationship right now. The way his sweet doe like amber eyes clouded over when he talked about his past Domme -Malia- tells Derek that the relationship probably didn't end well.

For all he knew, Malia could have abandoned Stiles after they had Scott. It didn't seem like the boy knew what was going on when Kira asked about Stiles' Dom. The simple thought of anyone abandoning Stiles with a newborn infuriated Derek much more than he would like to admit. Stiles didn't deserve that.

Derek's mind kept thinking of events that could have happened between Stiles and his Dom to make him look so forlorn about talking about Malia.

Before he knew it, Derek was parked in front of the Beacon Hills Police Department and he swiftly made his was toward the building with knew found determination. He quickly made his way to the Sheriff's office and let himself inside, John lifted his head up and considered him with raised eyebrows since it's very rare for Derek to walk into his office unannounced.

"I want to keep working on the domestic abuse case we got yesterday. I was so sure we had more evidence." John slowly rose up from his desk and looked at him with crossed arms.

"Derek, that case ran cold and you know that it's nearly impossible to actually find the person responsible with the little information he have." He said calmly, but Derek could see that he thinks this is going to be a big waste of time, and maybe it is but Derek can't just let this case go without further investigation.

"Sheriff, I know that the chances of us finding the person responsible is very slim with the leads we have right now but I think that if we look a little deeper into this case then we can find something we missed that can help us solve it. I don't want to close this case without knowing I did everything in my power to figure it out." 

It seems the sheriff finally understands that Derek wasn't going to take no for an answer after a moment of silence had settled between them because a few minutes later, he's sighing deeply, "Fine, but I'm partnering you up with deputy Raeken." 

Derek visibly scowled at the news.

He didn't trust Raeken at all, even if he was one of his own deputies. Unlike any of Derek's other deputies he couldn't find any information pertaining to Raeken when he did a background check on him- not even where he was born!

It was as if Raeken had kept his entire life hidden from prying eyes. The only reason he was allowed into the police force was because John already gave him the all clear even if Theo was going to be placed working in Derek's courters.

"Sheriff, you know I don't trust Raeken."

"Derek," John sighed. "he's one of your deputies, how can you not trust him?" He questioned rubbing his hand over his face.

"Because I wasn't the one who put him there." Derek barked, giving the sheriff his signature glare, even if there wasn't any real heat behind it.

"There is no information on him in our system you can't stand here and tell me that isn't a bit suspicious." Derek said narrowing his eyes at the sheriff.

"Well, he's been talking to me about that actually. But, I promised I wouldn't share the information without his consent so all I can say to you is that he's a good man that went through a lot in his childhood." John fixed Derek an encouraging smile, "Just give Theo a chance, Derek."

Derek still didn't like the idea of being paired up with Raeken, but John has always been a father figure for him ever since he started volunteering at the station for his high school credits and he'd trust the man with his life no matter what, so, he reluctantly agreed.

  

* * *

 

 Isaac was drawing peacefully at his desk while Stiles was putting in all the students in the morning roster when Danny tapped his shoulder.

 "Can I draw with you?" Danny asked as he nervously tugged on his shirt.

"Sure!" Isaac smiled brightly at the tan toddler with neat black hair and squinty dark brown eyes before scooting his chair over to make room for Danny to sit next to him.

Danny gave a relieved smile and sat down before taking out his crayons from his book bag.

"Why do you have so many pencils?" Isaac asked glancing at the box full of different colored pencils.

"These are color pencils, they're like pencils and crayons mixed together so you can draw with them." Danny explains as he picks one up and starts drawing on his paper.

"I've never seen them before, where did you find them?" Isaac questioned, his eyes still looking at the colored pencils with a curious gaze.

Danny shrugged. "I don't know, Stiles got them for me."

"Stiles gave them to you?" The blonde inquired with barely hidden astonishment.

"Yeah, for my birthday." Danny said nonchalantly as he continued to color his drawing.

"Do all teachers give their students presents for their birthdays?" The little wolf didn't know teachers did that. Erica and Boyd never told him their teachers gave them presents for their birthdays.

"Not always," Danny answered. "but Stiles always gives me a present for my birthday." He added dismissively.

"Why?" Isaac couldn't understand why Stiles would give Danny presents for his birthday when teachers don't give students birthday presents.

"Because Stiles is my anakala." Isaac scrunches up his nose in confusion, causing Danny to laugh before explaining, "Anakala means uncle in Hawaiian."

"Ohhhhhhh okay!" Isaac says as he continues to color his drawing only to have his head shoot back up a few seconds later. "STILES IS YOUR UNCLE?!?"

Danny nearly falls out of his seat at Isaac's outburst. "Y-yeah." he says as he tries to calm down from the unexpected scare.

"THAT'S SO COOL!!" Isaac squeals. "Stiles is the best teacher ever! So he has to be the best uncle ever too right?"

"Yep! He's the best!! And his desserts are amazing!!! I mean, anything that Stiles cooks is yummy but his desserts are the best things ever!! He baked the cake for my birthday this year and it was the most delicious cake in the history of delicious cakes!! He even made it with both Vanilla AND chocolate on the inside!!!" Danny finished with a dazzling smile.

"That sounds soooo good!" Isaac exclaimed excitedly.

Danny laughed as he said "IT WAS!"

Both Danny and Isaac fell into fits of giggles.

"I wish my uncle was like that! He can't bake  _anything_! It's always Auntie Laura that has to bake everything and she doesn't bake good at all!! She always burns the cookies!!! Uncle Eren does help me hide when Auntie Laura wants to go shopping though." Isaac giggled mischievously.

Danny giggled a bit before saying, "This one time Stiles and I were playing tag but then mama came home and she wanted to go shopping but Stiles didn't want to go to the mall so he tried to hide under my bed and told me not to tell mama but mama found him anyway and dragged him out the door by his foot." The two boys burst out laughing just as Stiles finished checking everyone off.

"Okay, did everyone do their homework?" Stiles said making his way to the board.

"YES!" Shouted all the students in unison.

"Well then do you all know who you're going to give your letter to?" He questioned writing down today's date on the large white board.

"YES!" once again shouted the students.

Stiles turned around and looked at the classroom with his hands on his hips. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go exchange your letters!"

Just like that the students all scrambled to search inside of their book bags for their letters and running around the room to give it to the person of their choice.

Isaac was about to go back to quietly finishing his drawing when Danny tapped him on the shoulder again. When Isaac looked up at him he was holding a light blue piece of paper out to him. Isaac opened up the little letter to see the words 'Do you like me?' staring back at him.

The little wolf took a moment to process the information when he saw Danny tugging at his shirt nervously again, he looked like he was about to say something but before Danny could get a word out Isaac brought him into a tight hug while whispering the word "yes" in the other boy's ear.

Danny let out a sigh of relief and hugged Isaac back just as tightly.

Isaac couldn't have been happier, not only did he have the best teacher ever but now he made  _two_  incredible friends at school.

 

* * *

 

 Derek managed to have as minimal contact with Raeken during his shift.

Even though Theo could have taken the day off due to him being in rut he decided to come into work two hours before Derek's shift ended because he wasn't in rut anymore and 'it's better to be late than to not show up at all' or at least that's what Derek heard his suger coated voice say when he entered the station.

There was just something about Raeken that made Derek's skin crawl and itch, something he could never explain- it was a gut instinct and if there was anything Derek learned from the fire was to never ignore his instinct, so, ever since Theo became his deputy he made sure to avoid him as much as he could.

Unfortunately now that he was partnered up with Raeken for this case it was nearly impossible to go two minutes without hearing his voice say something completely irrelevant to the situation.  Raeken had even attempted to convince Derek to drop the case because 'there is nothing more we can do' several times in just a two hour time span.

Derek is going to maul him the second his shift ends.

When Derek's shift finally ends he couldn't wait to just leave and be done with dealing with Raeken.

"Derek, where are you going?" Derek heard John ask as he was starting to pack up his stuff.

"Home." He grunted out making sure all his files where safely put away in his bag. Then he felt a firm hand on his shoulder forcibly turning him around so he was face to face with the sheriff.

"No, you're not. You sir, are going to stay here for the party." John said in a tone that left no room for argument.

Still, Derek felt the need to fight a finished war anyway. "Sheriff I really don't think-"

"Derek." The sheriff sighed, cutting off what Derek was going to say completely.

"You are the only person in this department that has not met my son. Even when you were a volunteer you never stayed for parties or celebrations long enough to meet him and excuse me if I want my co-sheriff to know who my son is. Plus, its Parrish's birthday today, you should at least stay for him if nothing else and the entire department will be attending I don't want you to miss out. _A_ _gain_."

Derek silently released a long sufferable sigh. "Fine." He growled out.

He didn't want to socialize, that was the last thing he wanted to do in fact, but, he always found it hard to defy the sheriff when he's on the receiving end of his stern gaze- whoever John's son was, he really felt for the kid.

 "Glad to see we understand each other." John said patting his shoulder before exiting Derek's office.

Derek sighed once more and resigned himself to stay in his office for a while longer to enjoy his last few moments of peace and quiet before the party began. 

Roughly twenty minutes later John walked into his office and dragged him out to the lounge where the party was being held. All the officers were already there and it seemed like everything was well decorated. The only thing that was missing was the cake and it looked like they were pretty scarce on food. Not the best way to start off a party where half the guests are werewolves.

As if on cue, the there was a knock on the door and someone shouted out, "FOOD'S HERE!!"

Everyone suddenly crowded over the front entrance.

"Wow thanks guys! I knew it was always my wonderful personality that could gather a whole room." Drawled a sarcastic voice. Derek recognized that voice, but it couldn't be! This had to be some sort of sick joke the universe is playing. This couldn't be real.

However, the universe seemed to have a lot of fun messing with his mind just because it knew it fucking can.

Stiles walked through the crowd of people with a cake in his arms and two werewolves holding numerous trays of cupcakes and brownies. 

The cake was a covered in plain white frosting with only the words 'Happy Birthday To Hell's Hound' written in dark blue cursive letters to decorate it. Each tray of brownies carried a different variety and the cupcakes were both vanilla and chocolate covered in blue and purple frosting with a..... police box on top?

Just then, Parrish entered the room and his eyes instantly widened with joy when he saw the food on the table. Before anyone got the chance to congratulate the man, he gathered Stiles into the roughest hug Derek had ever seen- it probably rivaled his own mother's bear hugs.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU MADE ME CUPCAKES DECORATED WITH THE TARDIS!!!" Parrish squealed- honest to god _squealed_ \- as he continued to hug the life out of Stiles.

"I ALWAYS KNEW I LIKED YOU BUT NOW I KNOW I HAVE TO KEEP YOU!! CAN I KEEP YOU?! WHAT AM I KIDDING OF FUCKING COURSE I'M KEEPING YOU!! I LOVE YOU MORE THAN THE ELEVENTH DOCTOR!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU RIGHT NOW!!! OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU SO FUCKING MUCH STILES!!!" 

"That's awesome Jordon really but, um, can you maybe let go of me? I love you man, I really do but I kind of need to breathe so unless you want my dad to kill you for murdering his only son you should probably let me get my serving of oxygen now." Parrish released him immediately.

"Sorry about that." Parrish said, cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine." Stiles said with a shrug and an easy going smile. 

"I'd never kill Parrish." John announced as he came up from behind Stiles to ruffle his soft brown hair.

Stiles gasps dramatically at his father's declaration, "Dad!! you wouldn't kill him if he was responsible for my death?!?!"

John just rolled his eyes at his son who was clearly dramatizing the entire situation, "Parrish wouldn't dare hurt you, he'd miss your food too much." He said giving a sly look directed at the hellhound who lowered his head sheepishly.

Stiles rolled his eyes and continued talking with Parrish and his dad. Derek stays put in the corner of the room trying to go as unnoticed as possible searching and waiting for the right moment to escape his torment. He couldn't take his eyes off of Stiles.

He was mesmerized by the way Stiles could laugh so easily, the way he flailed his arms when he spoke, the way his big Bambi eyes burst with life, the way he can converse with anyone in the room as if it's the most natural thing in the world, the way he makes sure his father doesn't eat any of the sweets he baked because of his health, the way he sends dirty glares at Parrish when he catches the hellhound sneaking his father brownies, and the way there isn't a single word Derek could use to describe him other than... _Stiles._

Derek was so screwed.

He knows he's screwed. He's pinning after a Sub like a lost puppy, which is the last thing that he should be doing right now.

He's the Alpha of Beacon Hills and Sheriff of the Beacon Hills Supernatural Police Force. He has to make sure his deputies are on task and that he's aware of everything that's going on in his territory. On top of that he has 3 kids to take care of! Two of which are in their junior year of high school who's soul mission in life is to bombard him with homework questions on subjects he barely remembers taking and the other just started the second grade!

He shouldn't have the time to be pinning uselessly over a Sub he knows he has no chance with but somehow he does. His wolf isn't helping the matter either. Sitting just under the surface of his skin his wolf is begging to scent, and mark, and claim Stiles as his own with an urgency he's never experienced before.

Derek knows he has to keep his wolf in check. He knows that if he isn't on his guard, his wolf will take control and do something incredibly stupid that would just scare Stiles off.

But he couldn't help but feel the sense of want and  _need_  his wolf felt. Derek couldn't help the urge he had to be next to Stiles. To hold, cherish, caress, kiss, protect, and just fucking love and care for him. 

Derek was screwed. So utterly screwed it wasn't even funny. Here he was, head over heels for a Sub he can never have who just so happens to be Isaac's second grade teacher and the son of Sheriff Stilinski, the only real fatherly figure he's had since the fire.

He can practically hear the universe laughing at this ridiculous soap opera that is his life.

 The rest of the party passed by fairly well. Stiles spent most of the night with his dad and Parrish who couldn't stop hugging Stiles for making the cupcakes every 5 seconds while Derek stayed put in his little corner avoiding any social interactions throughout the event. All the deputies from both departments seemed to be enjoying themselves and wouldn't stop complimenting Stiles on his baking skills making the boy flash that gorgeous smile of his everytime. 

 "I'm going to head home." Raeken announced in the mist of the party.

"What? Oh come on Theo! You can't leave now we haven't even sliced the cake yet! It's strawberry cream cake!!STRAWBERRY.CREAM.THEO!" Reasoned one of the other deputies in John's force. 

"Well I don't want to waste my entire night in here. I have a pretty little Sub waiting for my call right about now." Raeken finished with a sly smile directed at.... Stiles?

No one else seemed to notice this though, as other officers started whistling and patting Raeken on the back.

"Sooo who is this mysterious Sub?" Someone in the group huddled around him exclaimed shooting Raeken a teasing smile.

"I'm not one to bite and tell but," he rolled his eyes and drawled with a mischievous look in his eye. "She's a cute little thing. Always eager to please me and follows orders without question. She has a really perky ass with huge boobs to match-"

Derek stops listening to Raeken going on about this Sub he clearly only sees as a sexual outlet. Instead, he focuses his attention on Stiles, who's begun acting rather strangely to Raeken's words. He's fidgeting, making sure to keep his attention on anything that isn't Raeken but no one else seems to notice his odd behavior. 

Going against all of Derek's common sense telling him to stay in his little corner and wait for this damn party to be over to make his escape, he finds himself walking over towards Stiles. 

 "Hey, are you okay?" Stiles was startled from whatever he was thinking about and turned around to face him. He's about to respond but was, clearly, taken aback when he sees Derek standing there. 

"Uh hey Mr. Hale, I, um, wasn't expecting to see you here." Stiles let's the confusion seep into his voice and the uncertainty of why he never knew Derek worked here is obvious in his expression.

"I don't usually attend these type of things," Derek shrugs. "You alright?" He asks again.

"Yeah, just me being stupid. No need to worry Mr. Hale."

Derek didn't detect a lie but he highly doubts that this was simply Stiles being stupid. He doesn't pry though, he has no right to, so, he lets it slide for now. 

"You know, you really don't need to call me Mr. Hale all the time. You can call me Derek if you want." He suggests meekly, silently hoping that Stiles will agree to calling him something less formal and business-like. 

"Oh, uh, sure M- Derek," Stiles said, instantly correcting his small slip of the tongue. "And, um, you can call me Stiles if you want." He propositioned, lightly biting his lower lip as he kept his eyes to the floor. 

"Alright then, Stiles." The younger looked up at him wearing his infamous radiant smile. 

Stiles' smile is apparently infectious because before Derek even knew what he was doing, he had a matching smile plastered on his face. Stiles giggles and even though Derek wants to hear him laugh like that for the rest of his life, he's confused as to why he's laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"You have bunny teeth!" Stiles exclaims with a light hearted laugh Derek, however, doesn't find it the least bit humorous.

Yeah, he has rabbit teeth, he gets it, it doesn't mean people have to laugh in his face about it. He already dealt with people making fun of his teeth growing up he doesn't want to deal with it now. It's one of the many reasons he doesn't like to laugh or smile around people very often.

"NOO don't stop smiling!!! I want to see your adorable bunny teeth again!!" Stiles' face looks so genuinely horrified at the idea of not seeing Derek smile again that Derek couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction. Stiles instantly brightens up and starts poking Derek's cheeks.

"Who knew that the big bad wolf of Beacon Hills could have the cutest bunny teeth ever!!!" Derek has no idea how to react to that. No one has ever actually liked his bunny teeth other than his family; and even then he had a few older cousins that would pick on him every once in a while for his teeth.

He was stunned at Stiles' completely lack of personal space but for some reason, he didn't really mind it. He also couldn't stop smiling for the life of him.

Stiles just did something to Derek and his wolf... it was easy to smile around Stiles and even easier to forget that anything other than Stiles existed, which was the only explanation for Derek not noticing Parrish and John looking at them from the other side of room as they continued like this for the rest of the party.

 

* * *

 

  _Stiles was running through the forest as fast as his two legs could carry him._

_He was being chased down by Theo, who seemed set on killing him for accidentally breaking one of his rules._

_Theo is just a few strides behind him; snarling at him with his golden beta eyes targeting him. Stiles is absolutely terrified, he didn't mean to break Theo's rule, he didn't!! It just slipped._

_He knows it was stupid. He knows it was irresponsible of him to let his guard down. He knows he should have kept his mouth shut and not said a word like a good little Sub would. He knows all this dammit! He just... messed up. Like he always did._

_Theo was starting to catch up to him. Stiles has been running for a while now; his breath coming out in short pants as he tries to run faster._

_He's so focused on picking up his speed that he doesn't notice an old tree root sticking up from the ground and trips over it._ _Stiles knows he doesn't have time to get up without being caught so he transforms into his fox form and zooms past the trees at top speed._

_His heart is pounding so loud in his chest he doesn't realize that the sound of pounding footsteps and furious_ _snarls have died down._

_Once he registers that Theo has stopped following him he slowed down his pace until he came to a gradual stop. He glanced around himself; trying to take in his surroundings but found that he had no idea where he was._ _He doesn't recognize where he's standing and he has no clue how to get back home to his pup._

_Stiles wonders around aimlessly, always on his guard for potential dangers in these unfamiliar parts of the preserve. He feels little droplets fall on his head and instantly starts looking for shelter._

_By the time Stiles finds a den covered in green vines he's already completely soaked by the now pouring rain. He quickly makes his way inside to escape the cold rain. Stiles curls into a little ball inside the empty den trying to get as much warmth as he can through his wet fur coat._

_His ears lay flat on his head as his fluffy tail curls around him, he closes his eyes as he tries desperately to ignore the violent shivers that are wrecking through his tiny body._ _Stiles is freezing, lost, exhausted, scared, hungry, dirty, and... completely alone._

_He can't do anything to stop the soft whimpers escaping him. Stiles has always hated being alone. Always scared that one day he'll wake up and he won't have anyone any more. That someday he'll lose his dad. That somehow he'll manage to screw up so badly Scott while hate him and never want anything to do with him once he understands the absolute failure of a Sub he truly is._

_He nestled further into himself as more whimpering cries spilled from his mouth. Stiles' entire body was trembling from both the cold rain that drenched his white fur coat and the incredible fear that the little marble fox was experiencing._

_He wants to run back home as soon as possible but Stiles knows that he can't leave the security of the den until the storm settles, so, he stays put for now as his terrified whimpers echo through the seemingly empty forest._

_Stiles can hear something rustling through the trees. He tries to stop his whimpers but has no success in doing so. The sounds keep getting closer and Stiles is still shaking uncontrollably as he huddles closer into himself, determined to make himself as small as possible._

_The noises get closer and closer until Stiles can feel something looming over him. He cautiously opens his eyes to find a huge black wolf with crimson orbs staring at him._

_The wolf might be a lot bigger than Stiles but for some reason the tiny fox doesn't feel scared in the wolf's presence. The wolf isn't snarling or growling at him, he just seems to be looking at him curiously. As if the wolf doesn't know what to do next._

_The wolf slowly brings its face closer to Stiles', sniffing lightly in an attempt to catch his scent. Stiles feels his own curiosity bubble up inside him. He finds himself studying the mysterious wolf in front of him, sniffing softly as the smell of lavender, vanilla, and sandalwood entered his nose._

_Stiles and the wolf are face to face now, just inches apart from each other as Stiles timidly closes the distance and rubs their noses together. It seems that was all the wolf needed because a second later he lets out a pleased rumble as he nuzzles Stiles' head._

_Stiles yips happily and playfully nibbles on the wolf's ear._

_The wolf pulls back to look at him, seeming amused by his lighthearted behavior before realizing that Stiles is still trembling due to the rainfall. The wolf instinctively encircled his body around Stiles, wrapping his tail around the little fox and pressing Stiles up against his side._

_Stiles practically melts into the wolf's side. Taking deep breaths of the unimaginably calming scent and nearly purrs at the feeling of the warmth surrounding him._ _He cuddles deeper into the wolf's soft fur, rewarded with a gently nuzzle to show the wolf's approval._

_Stiles can't remember a moment where he felt so safe and protected in his life as he decides he doesn't ever want this blissful moment to end._

Stiles' alarm goes off.

He falls out of his bed, landing on the floor in an inelegant heap. He silently curses as he walks to the master bathroom to take a shower before heading to the school. He replayed the dream again and again in his head.

That has got to be the most random dream Stiles has ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay just so you all know I DO NOT have anything against Australian or British people. The little rant from Lydia was me releasing my hatred for my actual English teacher Ms. Walker who is always comparing Florida to Australia and how 'in Australia the students in honors classes are actually honors students' or whatever but anyway I was pissed off with her after a particularly unjustified accusation she made about me that was poorly thought out and completely disrespectful to me so I decided to put it into my writing. Sorry if I offended or made anyone feel uncomfortable that wasn't my intention in anyway I just needed to disseminate my stress.
> 
> Also any words in another language that isn't English, Spanish, or Italian in this story is from google translate so if there are any errors in the story please blame google and my lack of knowledge on the subject. Also what do you all think of the story so far?


	4. Harvest Moon

_Derek was prowling the preserve in his wolf form, searching for any signs of intruders in his territory. All seemed at peace in his forest- his home. The night breeze was nipping at his wet nose and the grass was cool under the pads of his paws._

_Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as he turned to leave when, the wind carries the traces of wet mutt and Derek's large canine ears pick up predatory growls and snarling coming from the other side of the preserve followed closely by the distinct sound of leaves crunching and twigs snapping under heavy foot fall._

_Derek's shadowy figure dashed through the lush green forest as fast as he could toward the directi_ _on_ _where the growling originated._ _T_ _he scent of another werewolf, an unknown and ghastly smelling one at that, snuck up into his nose and his wolf body seemed all the more hyper-sensitive. His fur was bristling and he felt his claws dig into the ground enough to kick up bits of rock._

 _When Derek was nearing the half way point of the preserve, something occurred to him. He couldn't smell_ _whatever the other wolf was chasing._

 _Derek persistently continued to chase the wolf, gradually shortening the distance until he could physically see the matted werewolf. It was the average height of_ _a_   _beta and_   _a_   _little on the skinny side, his fur was matted with dirt and blood as well as old scars._

_Finally nearing the other werewolf, close enough to attack from behind, Derek smelt it. He smelled the person being chased by the other wolf._

_The most enchanting, mouthwatering aroma surrounded his mind and body, shoving itself into every crevice of his thought process. The subtle smell of a sweetened caffeinated drink, mint, and eucalyptus with an under layer of pine needles wafted into his nose but the unbelievably delectable scent was tainted by the pungent, acrid smell of immense fear._  

_A sharp, stinging sensation wafted up his nose as his vision goes red. In an instant, the almost familiar feeling of his wolf shifting in his subconscious took over and he was racing through the preserve with only his animalistic determination to follow that scent no matter what._

_Derek eventually found himself running after the silhouette of a beta werewolf and pushed himself to dig his claws harder into the earth to gain speed. Whoever this werewolf is, he's clearly the one responsible for the vicious growls and snarls resonating through the preserve and Derek can't help but want him dead for simultaneously being the reason for that sour smell of immense fear overruling that incredibly sweet scent._

_The wolf manages to catch up to the beta rather quickly before he himself is a snarling mess of pure instinct and rage toward the other were. Before Derek realizes what he's doing, he's sinking his claws into the beta's legs, making him turn into a pile of ashes on the forest ground._

_Derek sprinted toward the alluring scent that was still covered by fear._

_The scent was getting farther and farther away from the wolf, nearly making him whine. Derek forced himself to go faster in a desperate attempt to get closer to the source of the scent but that was soon rendered useless when it started to rain, drowning out the astonishing smell with the pouring of fresh rainfall._

_The wolf kept running aimlessly, trying to track the scent once more but it was to no avail. The rain has completely hidden the scent from the wolf as the downpour only gets stronger by the minute._

_Eventually Derek was completely drenched from head to paw; he knows it's only a matter of time before it gets into his double coat if it continues to rain like this._

_Reluctantly, Derek ended his attempts in finding the source of the scent and started heading back toward a cave he knows is near this part of the preserve._

_The wolf was able to get to the cave relatively quickly but his body was fighting every instinct he has, telling him to keep pursuing the origin of the incredible smell. Until he had a good look at the inside of the cave that is._ _There was a little fox curled up into a tiny ball inside the cage._

_Derek's tail does not wag._

_It doesn't..._

_He also doesn't yip happily when he finally sees the fox._

_Nope. No wagging and yipping here._

_None what so ever._

_Then the wolf made his way cautiously toward the small fox. He didn't want to scare the tiny creature more than it already is._

_The closer Derek got to the little fox the more the fox seemed to curl into itself. He made sure to walk slowly toward the frightened fox, keeping himself in a relaxed and nonthreatening posture._

_When Derek was finally standing in front of the fox he could clearly smell the fear and anxiety rolling off its small body in waves. The wolf whined loudly when he realized that he was the cause of the fox's distress. Letting his instincts take over yet again, Derek leaned down to let the fur of his chest touch the floor and bent his front paws and began to gently nuzzle the little fox._

_The wolf was practically vibrating with pride, purring at the scent slowly losing the sour, acrid tint of fear and kept sniffing and nuzzling softly to his heart's content._

_Eventually the small fox lifted his head up to get a good look at the large black alpha wolf. Derek saw a spark of mischief in those yellow eyes as the fox analyzed him for a few seconds._

_Before the alpha knew what was happening the tiny fox slowly leaned and nuzzled him as Derek had done just a few moments ago. The alpha nearly fainted, barely holding back his whimper when the fox pulled away from him. An amused huff escaped instead when the fox bit and tugged at the alpha's ear playfully._

_Then the fox did something that threw the wolf completely off guard. He leaned back so that he was facing the wolf again and slowly pressed his nose to the wolf's. Their noses where touching! His tiny nose was wiggling and warm against Derek's large and wet one._

_Derek wanted to run around the woods yipping and barking happily so everyone would hear, but, he made sure to stay completely still and just enjoyed the sensation of having the fox so close and comfortable around him. If his tail gently thumping against the floor the entire time, well no one had to know._

_But the fox was still shaking._

_It obviously wasn't because he was afraid if he was willingly getting close to the wolf, so, the fox must still be cold._

_That won't do._

_Derek curled up around the little fox, making sure the fox was safely pressed against the wolf. The fox seemed to relax completely into the alpha's heat, causing the wolf to preen internally._

_The wolf let the presence and scent of the fox sooth him as he nuzzled the small fox comfortingly._

_Derek never wanted this to end._ _Ever._

 

* * *

 

On his way to Isaac's classroom to drop him of Derek was replaying the dream repeatedly in his head. He knew that werewolves had dreams like those when they meet their mate for the first time. It's a way for their wolf to tell them that they finally found the one. A way for them to get a sense of who it was they were destined to be with.

Derek couldn't be anymore pissed off.

Not only did he stop searching for his mate years ago but he was already completely head over heels for someone else. A cute, talkative, smart, second grade teacher someone else. An adorable Sub that totally captured his heart last night at Parrish's party... and was just a few feet away wearing dark blue skinny jeans, a grey long sleeved shirt, and those fucking hipster glasses.

Shit.

 "STILES!!!!" Isaac shouted as he ran over to the teacher and latched onto his leg while beaming up at him. The astonishing smile that made it's way to the older man's face should be illegal.

"Hey, angel, what's up?"

He just called Isaac angel. And Isaac didn't tell him to stop calling him anything other than his name like he does with Derek and the two beta's at home. Why did his mate have to show up just when he found the most perfect guy in the universe?

"Do you know where Danny is?" The blonde asked, sending pleading eyes toward the teacher.

Stiles snorted before answering, "He's sitting in his desk doing a puzzle."

"Really?! I love puzzles!!!" The little boy exclaimed, still clinging onto Stiles' leg.

"Then maybe you should go help him. Stiles suggested with a smirk plastered on his face.

"DANNY!!!!" Isaac yelled as he ran inside the classroom, leaving Derek and Stiles alone at the door way. He really shouldn't have come 30 minutes early.

"Hey Derek." Stiles said looking up slightly to meet the Dom's eyes. Derek notices -not for the first time- how the Sub must be around 4-5 inches shorter than him.

"Hi." he whispers as the floor becomes the most interesting thing in the world.

Then some random kid comes to his rescue. Why is being saved by children becoming a regular occurrence now?

"Mr. Stiles! Mr. Stiles! Mr. Stiles!!!!" Screamed a little girl with long black hair flowing messily behind her as she ran toward the teacher.

"Yes Mia?" Stiles asked looking down at the little girl.

"Jonathan pulled my ponytail and now my hair is ruined!!! And it's picture day today!! Mommy said I had to take a good picture so she could put it in the family room like Cassandra's!!!! Now I'm never going to have a pretty picture like my big sister!!!" Mia yelled looking seconds away from crying.

"Hmmmmm I think I know why Jonathan did that."

"You do?" She asked through glassy eyes.

Stiles nodded before kneeling down to her level as he whispered "Jonathan is jealous." causing the little girl to crunch up her face in confusion.

"Jealous of what?" she whispered back.

"Jealous that his picture wasn't going to be as pretty as yours." Mia's face was the picture of understanding once the words left Stiles' lips.

"OHHHHH so that's why he ruined my hair? He didn't want me to take a prettier picture than him?" Mia practically screamed.

Stiles just pressed his index figure against his lips while making a shushing noise which made the little girl instantly slap a hand over her mouth and whisper a soft 'sorry' toward the teacher.

"It's alright princess. Want me to do a bow bun on you really quick?" Stiles said already sitting on the floor with his legs crossed.

"YES!" Mia screeched as she scrambled onto Stiles' lap. The fuck is a bow bun?

In a time span of 3 minutes Mia was sporting a huge bow on her head _made of her own hair_ while she gingerly skipped back into the classroom yelling her thank you's to Stiles, leaving the teacher to shake his head fondly at her actions.

Derek wanted to say something. He wanted to say how amazing it was that Stiles could have such a close relationship with all his students, not just Isaac and Danny. Wanted to ask how he is so good with kids when he had only managed to get Erica, Boyd, and Isaac's trust after months upon months of interactions. Wanted to know why he decided to be a teacher. Wanted to know anything and everything about Stiles. However, the only thing that came out of his mouth was "Kids." followed by a dry nervous chuckle and internal grimace at his nonexistent communication skills.

His failed attempt to actually have a normal conversation still received a small snort from Stiles as he said, "You have no idea dude."

"You haven't met Erica." He groaned remembering what an absolute nightmare she was when she was younger and debatably still is in some moments.

"No, but she couldn't have been as bad as me as a kid. I was the definition of a devil child from ages 3 to 16."

Somehow Derek highly doubted that and didn't even notice that he was speaking out loud until he actually heard himself mumble, "I'm sure you were a cute kid."

"Well obviously. All kids are cute up until a certain age but I'm sure all that cuteness that kids somehow manage to naturally have has long since gone away for me." He explained with a shrug, trying to go for nonchalant but not having much success.

Does he seriously not think he's cute? 

"No it hasn't." Derek proclaimed confidently.

"You really don't need to give me false compliments to make me feel better about myself. I know what I look like." Stiles insisted but his eyes were clouded by sorrow and his body language was showing just how self-conscious he really was about himself.

Something snapped in the wolf and Derek found himself speaking yet again.

"You're attractive Stiles. You have cute moles, nice eyes, seemingly fluffy hair, long lashes, a gorgeous smile, a good body, and the most adorable upturned nose I've ever seen." When he finished speaking he tapped Stiles' nose gently with his index finger to prove his point. 

Derek didn't know how he got close enough to actually tap Stiles nose but it was definitely worth it when he watched Stiles' cheeks flush an attractive shade of pink, causing him to duck his head in embarrassment.

He wanted to just lift Stiles' head and capture his lips on his own but he couldn't do that. It would just scare Stiles away. Yet, he was still standing right in front of Stiles and staring at him like a creeper. 

Derek quickly stepped back and cleared his throat, causing Stiles to look up again with his still pink cheeks. 

"So, um, are you, uh, going to the harvest moon tomorrow?" Derek asked lamely.

"Oh, yeah, um, it's going to be Scott's first harvest moon so I'll definitely be there. With him. Yep." Stiles answered as he awkwardly shifted from foot to foot. 

"Well then I guess I'll see you there then?" Derek hated how that sounded like a question when he meant for it to be a statement in his head. 

"Yes!!! Yes- uh, I mean, yeah. You'll see me and I'll see you and we'll see each other. There. At the harvest moon. Tomorrow." Stiles announced while flailing his hands everywhere and making exaggerated movements with his entire body that Derek couldn't help but find endearing.

They both swiftly parted ways soon after and even though Derek was mentally lecturing himself on why it was important to speak to someone like a normal person, he couldn't help but think that the interaction between him and Stiles could have gone a whole lot worse.

 

* * *

 

 Stiles is looking through marthastewartswedding.com with Lydia during their lunch break in the cafeteria in an attempt to find the perfect centerpieces for the reception. Only problem is that this is Lydia fucking Martin they're talking about and perfection clearly only exists in her head.

"Lyds, I think these will go really well with the whole moonlight chic theme you're going for." Stiles explains while showing her a centerpiece with white roses scattered around with little candle lights around it.

"I don't like white roses, or, any roses for that matter. They're too stereotypical for a wedding and my wedding is going to be 110% MY wedding." She declares with a determined spark in her eye.

"What about Jackson? Isn't this his wedding too?" He says with something that can only be described as fondness in his tone.

"Jackson can have his bride-zilla moment next week when it's his turn to be the bratty Sub." Lydia says with a dismissive wave of a perfectly manicured hand.

"I'll never understand switches." Stiles sighs exasperatingly.

"Your dad's a switch, don't you understand him?" The red-haired goddess points out, faking innocence.

"Yes, but, my mom was his Domme, so, it's pretty obvious to know how their dynamic worked. You and Jackson are just confusing, as usual."

Lydia simply shrugs as she replies, "Not all switches are the same, neither are all switch couples. Me and Jackson just like to switch our roles every 2 weeks. If some people think it's weird or unnatural then that's their problem. It works for us and that's all that matters."

Stiles can't help the small wave of nostalgia that came over him. He didn't necessarily like Jackson but he made Lydia happy, and Stiles could tell that he loves her even if he is a douche most of the time. He wants someone like that. Someone that will love him even with all his imperfections. He had something like that with Malia but she died before she could become his Beloved.

"Besides, I think you'll be better acquainted with switch couples sooner than you think considering how well Parish and your dad are getting along." Lydia says pulling him out of his thoughts.

The banshee somehow always seems to know when his mind is getting the best of him and knows just what to say to distract him for a bit.

He doesn't like talking about Malia. She knows this and, therefore, tries to avoid the topic whenever she can. Even Jackson doesn't bring her up unless absolutely necessary. Which really, is hardly ever. As much as Stiles tries to deny it, it's something he will always be grateful for.

"Fucking _finally_ do you have any idea how long I've been trying to set them up? 9 months Lydia. _9 months!!_   I was this close to thinking that my dad would never get his head out of his ass and ask Parrish out." He finishes with an frustrated groan.

"I guess clueless runs in the Stilinski's genes." Lydia says with a teasing smirk.

Stiles throws a plastic spork at her -The hell is up with that anyway? It's not a spoon, not a fork. Unnatural is what it is- which she easily dodges without even looking at him because she's Lydia and clearly she has the ability to defy logic on a daily basis. Damn her.

Naturally, Jackson chooses the perfect time to ruin the conversation in 0.2 seconds.

"Stilinski? Clueless? Please babe, you're way too smart to have figured that out _now._ " Jackson declared with a smirk as he plopped down next to Lydia.

"Bite me." Stiles glared at the beta werewolf.

Jackson simply gave him a smug look while Lydia merely rolled her eyes. "Sorry I don't like white meat."

Lydia smacked him upside the head. "Jackson can you stop being an idiot and shut up. I'm trying to find the perfect centerpiece for my wedding."

Jackson started to mumble something about it being 'their wedding' but Lydia cut him off by sending an icy glare in his direction.

Stiles grinned victoriously before turning his attention back to the strawberry blonde goddess.

"Lyds, do Allison and Danny have everything ready for tomorrow?"

"Yes, They're all packed and ready for a night with the sheriff." Lydia informs.

"What? Are you scared Stilinski?" Jackson asks mockingly as he failed to suppress a smirk.

"Fuck you Jackson. It's Scott's first harvest moon and he's never been separated from me for so long. I think I have the right to be a little worried." He says crossing his arms defensively.

Lydia just rolls her eyes dramatically. "He'll be fine Stiles. He's going to be with Alpha Hale and other pups his age the entire week."  

"Don't waste your breath Lydia, Stilinski doesn't have the luxury of common sense."

Stiles throws his broccoli at Jackson... It hits him directly in the face.

Never underestimate Stiles' hatred for broccoli.

 

* * *

 

 As soon as art time for the kids started, Stiles logged into his computer to find out anything and everything there was to know about the Harvest Moon.

Apparently, the Harvest Moon tradition started around the time of the middle ages in Old England when one of the first werewolves found it increasingly harder to control the shift on the date of the full harvest moon. They feared for the safety of non-werewolf villagers that could easily be harmed with their wolves so close to the surface, so, they fled to the farther regions of the forest where they could let their wolf run freely without endangering the lives of other villagers.

When they first arrived at the most secluded section of the woods, they were surprised to find that other were-creatures had been similarly affected by the harvest moon- even if they weren't normally influenced by the lunar circle.

The dominating species were clearly werewolves but there were small groups of hellhounds, Kitsunes, and even a few werefoxes scattered into the mix. 

Not only was this the first time that different supernaturals came together completely by accident, but this was the first documented event that involved werewolves of the Alpha/Alpha category being able to mind link with non-pack members. The ability to mind link had always been strictly between blood relatives and pack members.

However, what truly made the harvest moon a phenomenon in supernatural history was the fact that beta and omega werewolves were able to complete the full transformation.

Prior to this global supernatural event, it was common knowledge that only werewolves in the Alpha/Alpha category were able to fully transform into wolves at any given time once they reach the age of 7, while, Alpha/Beta werewolves have the ability to achieve the full shift with years of training but Beta werewolves have only been known to reach a half shift, same as Omegas.

In modern day societies, the Harvest Moon is mostly seen as a werewolf coming of age ceremony of sorts- even though there are other supernaturals besides werewolves that still attend the Harvest Moon runs in their territory.

Werewolf pups have their first full shift on their 6th harvest moon and will traditionally stay with the Alpha of the territory for a week in order to learn control since their wolf will stay close to the surface for the next few days following the Harvest Moon.

The pups will be able to mind link with the territory's Alpha during the duration of the week and keep in touch with supernatural blood relatives through the mind link as well.

It wasn't the fact that Stiles wasn't going to be able to communicate with Scott other than through the mind link for a week that had him so on edge. It was the fact that his pup was going to be looked after by a  _stranger_ for a week that had his fox so upset.

Obviously, Stiles knew that Derek wasn't going to harm Scott in any way, shape, or form and that Scott would mind link him if anything happened but the thing was Stiles didn't know anything about Derek and yet he was supposed to entrust his pup to him? His fox was going crazy with anxiety and wouldn't stop whimpering in his head.

He decides to calm his fox the only way he knows how.

Research.

Stiles opens up a new tab -only adding to the sea of virtual information he already has open- in order to learn all he can about Derek -sexiness personified- Hale.

Almost all of the articles that come up are of the Hale fire that happened in the Hale house 9 years ago. Stiles was 12 -turning 13 in April- when it happened but he doesn't remember much about what was going on during the time of the fire other than he was struggling to survive his first year of high school with all of the other freshmen being 2 years older than he was.

It wasn't so much the hard curriculum as much as it was the fact that he was still going through the awkward parts of puberty while everyone around him was fully developed and completely comfortable in their own skin. It could be said that this is when his inferiority complex started to pop up.

When Stiles sees the different articles in front of him regarding the Hale fire he nearly chokes on air.

**27 Hale Family Members Killed During Fire**

**Only Hale Fire Survivors Talia, Peter, Laura, and Derek Hale**

**Kate Argent Anti-Werewolf Extremist Found Guilty For Hale Fire**

**Kate Argent Seduces Derek Hale For Information On Hale Family**

Stiles doesn't remember the Hale fire being such a horrific event. Sure, he had his own issues to deal with at the time but he would have remembered _something_ about so many innocent people being murdered in cold blood by a manipulative specie-istic bitch.

He knew that there are still humans in this world that are against the supernatural but he never thought that someone would do something this barbaric. The fact that Kate Argent, an 18 year old anti-werewolf extremist, used sex as a means to manipulate a young, naïve, and hormonal Derek Hale- that couldn't have been older than 16 at the time- makes Stiles feel sick to his stomach.

This Kate person was obviously insane and- even then- her father, Gerard Argent, still defended her in court saying she was doing humanity a 'great favor'- clearly, being mentally unstable was a common trait in the Argent family.

Stiles wasn't surprised when he read that Derek moved to New York with his older sister and her husband while Peter and Talia Hale stayed in Beacon Hills to take care of everything. He was surprised, however, to read that Derek had been attending Beacon Hills High School previous to the fire.

The fire had occurred just a few weeks after the beginning of the school year so Stiles doubted that they met before the fire but... if the fire hadn't happened then there was a very good chance that they would have seen each other in the hall ways or bumped into each other in the cafeteria or maybe even had a class together once Stiles started taking AP classes during his sophomore year.

There was no denying that they definitely would have meet in high school sooner or later if the fire hadn't occurred but seeing each other in the hall ways and actually being friends are two different things.

Derek is the walking definition of perfection and from what Stiles saw in those few pictures the photographers had of 16 year old Derek then, he was unbelievably attractive in his teenage years too -for different reasons but undeniably hot nonetheless- while Stiles was awkward, gawky and still going through puberty. Not to mention he had no friends while being surrounded by perfectly sculpted werewolf bodies everywhere he looked.

The only person Stiles knew in high school was Jackson who he wasn't even friends with back then and technically still isn't. 

Derek wouldn't have told Stiles the time of day if they had gone to high school together and Stiles doesn't know why someone like Derek would spare him a second glace let alone talk to him willingly now.

There were still a lot of things that Stiles wanted to know about Derek. Why he wanted to be a cop, why is he an Alpha/Alpha and not an Alpha/Beta, what was his favorite subject, what is his favorite TV series, is he a Pixar fan or is he a Disney person, does he like Star Wars, who does he think is the most badass Disney princess, what's the funniest memory he has of Isaac, is he a morning person or does he like sleeping in on his days off, how does he like his coffee in the morning, does he like reading, etc.

It was scary how many things he wanted to know about him that other people would see as completely meaningless.

Still, one thing Stiles was absolutely sure of was that Derek would never do anything to harm Scott.

That was good enough for now.

 

* * *

 

 Derek was making sure everything was set up perfectly for when everyone arrived for the harvest moon. He was in the middle of fluffing the pillows in the living room when Erica and Boyd walked through the front door with an overly excited Isaac.

Isaac ran to hug Derek's leg for a slit second only to zoom up the stairs before Derek could even blink.

"He's excited because 'the most coolest teacher in the whole universe' is coming to the harvest moon today." Boyd said heading to his room.

"Speaking of exciting," Erica sang with a dangerous gleam in her eye.

Shit.

"Are you going to ask him today?"

"What?" He had now idea where she was going with this.

"Don't play dumb Derek. When are you going to ask Isaac's teacher out?" She asked placing her hands on her hips.

Derek did not choke on his own spit. He didn't.

He also did not blush profusely. Nope. Not at all. 

Erica was seeing things.

"Why would you-"

"Come on Derek, did you really think I wouldn't notice? You aren't that lucky. And now that I've actually seen said teacher in person today you are even less lucky. He's a cute little Bambi- not exactly my first choice for the Big Bad Wolf of Beacon Hills but I approve nonetheless."

"I'm glad to have your approval." Derek snapped sarcastically.

"As you should be." Erica beamed before turning on her heels and making her way toward her room.

When people started to arrive in the preserve Derek was already in his wolf form. The harvest moon won't start for another 20 minutes so most of the wolves aren't able to fully transform yet, but they would in a few more minutes.

He can see Kira has already arrived and he can't help but feel disappointed that he can't mind link with her.

Even though the harvest moon gives him the ability to mind link with non-pack members it doesn't give him the ability to mind link with other species. Wolves mind link with wolves and foxes mind link with foxes.

He sees a little ball of white fur in the corner of his eyes and is speechless by what he sees.

A fox. _The_  fox. The one that is supposedly his mate is walking side by side with Scott. Stiles' son. Without Stiles anywhere in sight. Accompanied by Lydia, the banshee, and Jackson Whittemore, a beta werewolf in his territory.

Derek might not know a lot about Stiles but there was one thing he did know. Scott was everything to Stiles. He wouldn't let just anyone be with Scott if he wasn't around to supervise it. Which means that this fox is someone that Stiles must trust immensely. Or Stiles is the fox-

No. No he will not let his mind come close to even  _thinking_ of that possibility. It was too good to be true. Even with how much he yearned for Stiles to be his mate he knew he couldn't have him.

Stiles deserved better than him. 

Scott laughed abruptly, clearly mind linking with the fox. But Scott was a wolf. Derek was sure of it. Which means that Scott and the fox had to be related by blood.

Fuck.

Stiles can't be the fox. He  _can't_ be.

There has to be another explanation. But Stiles clearly said that it was just him and Scott.

Maybe Stiles had a sister or brother he didn't mention? Derek highly doubted that assumption since the Sheriff would have mentioned having another child other than Stiles.

Perhaps a cousin? or another relative that didn't live in Beacon Hills?

Derek was screwed. Not only was he completely taken with Stiles, no the universe just had to screw him over by making his mate related to him! There was always the possibility that Stiles himself was his mate but Derek wasn't even going to think about that right now.

There was no way that someone as amazing and perfect as Stiles would ever be Derek's mate. It wasn't happening. Nope.

But if that wasn't Stiles then... where was he? He said he would be here and since this is Scott's first harvest moon it's very unlikely that Stiles skipped out in the last minute.

Suddenly a blonde beta werewolf with matted fur came into sight. He was staring right at the fox but no one else seemed to notice except the fox itself.

It's body quickly tensed and deliberately avoided eye contact with the werewolf. Scott clearly didn't seem to understand why the strong smell of anxiety was coming from the fox but the banshee did. She saw more than smelled the panic going through the fox. The second it became tense Ms. Martin instantly became aware of the clearly unwanted attention from the beta. 

The banshee was clearly protective over the fox if the way she pulled the fox into her arms and walked in the opposite direct of the wolf was any indication. Jackson Whittemore -although he tried to look disinterested with the wolf's presence- sent a deadly glare toward the wolf accompanied by a barely audible growl.

Maybe they were a small mismatch pack?

Despite their obvious protectiveness over the fox, Derek knew that he needed a reliable pair of eyes on the small creature. The banshee wouldn't be running with them during the harvest moon and Jackson will soon be too concentrated on running to actually keep a close eye on the fox the entire night.

_'Erica, do you see the fox?'_

_'The target has been spotted.'_

_'Keep on eye on it for tonight.'_

_'On it.'_

_'What are you doing?'_

_'Nothing...'_

_'You're going straight towards it. I said to watch it not hunt it down!'_

_'I'm going to say hi, Derek, don't start drama.'_

_'You don't need to say hi. No saying hi. All you need to do is watch from a distance!'_

_'And be a creeper? Sorry Derek but I'm not a homicidal stalker like you are. Don't worry though, I'm sure one of your kids will follow in their old man's footsteps.'_

_'Erica.'_

_'Congrats you managed to turn my name into a growl! That's awesome boss but I've got a mission to accomplish.'_

_'What mission?'_

_'Don't worry your pretty little head about that.'_

_'Erica.'_ _'Erica what mission'_ _'Erica!!'_

Erica made her way toward the fox that was jumping happily in the air when Scott finally completed the full transformation. The fox was yipping and biting playfully at Scott who was now the same size at the fox. They were both in the middle of tackling each other when they noticed Erica.

The fox became still and a bit tense but nothing compared to how it reacted to the other wolf. Scott just seemed confused at the sudden lack of rough housing until he finally spotted Erica heading toward them.

The banshee and beta werewolf -now fully transformed as well- appeared cautious but not to the same extent of how they did with the last wolf.

Erica bounded straight for the fox with her tail wagging happily behind her.

When she was standing right in front of the fox she dropped down into her front paws, tail wagging in the air with a goofy open mouthed grin on her face that made her look like a moron.

Scott excitedly mimicked her position but had his head turned toward the fox as if asking permission.

The fox studied Erica's face, stance, and just her demeanor in general before nodding its head once and turning around toward the banshee once more.

Erica was haven't any of that apparently.

She went to stand in front of the fox again and repeated her prior position. Scott was next to her doing the exact same thing as Erica while staring up at the fox with pleading eyes.

The fox relented and seemingly accepted the invitation to play.

 A moment later all three of them were running and rough housing with one another like 3 newly unleashed pups.

 

* * *

 

 Running with Erica and Scott was a lot more fun than Stiles had originally thought.

Erica was extremely gentle when dealing with Stiles and Scott. He might not enjoy being treated the same way as a child but Stiles appreciated that she was cautious when messing around with them.

It all came to an end far too soon though.

The others were already making their way to the secluded parts of the preserve now that the run was just minutes away from starting.

_'You ready pup?'_

_'Super ready!!!'_

_'Good, remember I'll be running a little behind the other wolves but I'll still be able to keep an eye on you. If you need anything just talk to me through the mind link, okay?'_

_'Okay, got it!'_

_'Come on we don't want to miss the start of your first run!'_

 The run went smoothly up until Stiles felt Theo's presence and he started chasing after Stiles.

 Theo was just a few strides behind him now and Stiles couldn't keep tailing behind the wolves or else he'd run the risk of Theo catching up to him. Just as Stiles thought that, he felt Theo's fangs scrap his hind legs.

Stiles, in a blind panic, sprinted as fast he could through the preserve. His heart was beating so fast he thought it might break out of his ribcage, His ears failed to hear anything other than the blood rushing through him, His vision became obscured in his panic, and the only thing on his mind was to get as far away from Theo as possible.

 

* * *

 

Derek was leading the run when he saw a little white blur pass by him with the same blonde wolf from earlier chasing after it. Something sparked in Derek causing him to want nothing more than to rip the other wolf's throat out.

_'Boyd take over the run for me.'_

_'Ok'_

Derek will forever continue be amazed at Boyd's ability to take orders without asking questions but now was not the time for appreciating Boyd's unadulterated loyalty. Now was the time to focus on making sure that wolf doesn't touch his fox.

Derek was gradually closing the distance between him and the blonde beta but before he could get close enough to stop the other wolf, it pounced. Just as the blonde wolf's claws were right above the fox, Derek tackled him. They both landed on the ground in a frenzy of snarls, claws, fangs, and blood.

The fight went on for a few moments but before long Derek had the other wolf's neck captured in his fangs.

_'Don't. Touch. My. Fox'_

The blonde wolf simply huffed out an annoyed breath as Derek released him. The wolf sent one last growl towards the fox before he finally limped away into the thick underbrush of the wild forest vegetation. 

Derek instantly turned toward the small fox. The little creature was trembling in fear and had anxiety pouring off of its small body in waves. Derek gently lifted the fox by its neck with his teeth, making sure not to harm the tiny animal, before making his way back to the Hale house.

Once they reached the house Derek went up to his room where he softly placed the fox on his bed as he curled around its shivering form.

The fox surprisingly stayed silent throughout the entire incident and didn't seem the slightest bit scared by the wolf. In fact, the little fox was actually snuggling closer to Derek, nuzzling his tiny form closer towards his neck and it seemed to calm once Derek curled his tail around his lithe body.

Derek nuzzled the fox and was in complete euphoria when the scent of sweet coffee, mint, and pine needles entered his nose. He let the intoxicating scent consume him as he drifted into a peaceful slumber.

_'Derek.'_

_'Derek wake up...'_

_'Derek your mother is calling you!'_

_'DEREK!!!!!'_

Derek nearly fell off the bed due to his incredibly rude awakening alarm system and quickly shifting back into his human form. Erica was standing a few feet away, watching smugly as Derek's fur turned into skin and clothing.

She placed his cell phone in his hand as she leaned in and whispered, "So I guess Bambi and the Big Bad Wolf got together after all?" 

Derek just growled at her as she walked out of the room. It's not like the fox could ever possibly be Stiles -no matter how much he wanted it to be true- so why would Derek get his hopes up?

"Hello?" 

"Derek! How was the harvest moon? I'm sorry I haven't called in a while its just been so busy lately that I haven't had much time to call! I feel like a terrible mother." His mother's silky voice calls out through the phone.

 "It's fine, mom." 

"Well, tell me how things are going over there. How are my three precious grandkids doing?"

"They're fine. Erica and Boyd are self-indulging themselves in school and homework- I hope. Isaac started going to school and from what I can tell he loves every minute of it." He couldn't help the fondness in his tone as he thought about the one of a kind teacher.

"And that wouldn't have anything to do with this cute teacher I've been hearing so much about?" Derek could practically hear the smirk in her face right now.

"...How did you know about that?" His voice turning ice cold at the sudden change of topic.

"I have my sources. Now spill it." she demanded.

Derek sighed. "There's nothing to spill, nothing is going on between us, besides it... wouldn't work out."

"Why not?" She inquired gently.

"Because I... I've been getting the dreams." Derek answered reluctantly.

"Oh honey, it'll be okay. Look on the bright side. You finally found your mate! Now tell me about these dreams of yours." she said encouragingly.

"Well I'm basically chasing after a fox-"

"Fox?!? What fox!? Describe it. Don't leave out a single detail!"

"Uhhh, it has a white fur coat with grey patches on its back, tail, and ears. It also had golden beta eyes, was around the same size as a wolf pup, has small paws, a bushy tail, and a lean build."

"OH MY GOD THAT'S JOHN AND CLAUDIA'S BOY!! HE'S THE CUTEST LITTLE THING! I HAVEN'T SEEN HIM SINCE HE WAS A KIT BUT HE IS A COMPLETE SWEETHEART!!  I COULD NEVER LEARN TO PRONOUNCE HIS NAME CORRECTLY! What was that nickname he had? Smiles??"

"STILES?!?!"

"That's the one! Oh, he's going to be a great mate Derek you'll see! You'll forget all about that teacher once you meet him, I promise!! He's absolutely adorable! You'll love him!! Sorry Derek I need to go now- Laura needed me to take care of the kids and I can't leave them unsupervised for a second or else they start clawing at each other. I'll talk to you later Corazon!" 

Derek stood there, staring at the now black screen of his phone trying to process what his mother had just said.

Stiles is his mate. 

Stiles, the man that totally stole Derek's heart, is his mate. This can't be happening.

There is no way in hell that _Stiles_ is his mate. It's just not possible. No matter what his mom has to say about it.

Stiles is _not_ Derek's mate. Derek isn't good enough for him. He deserves someone better, someone that doesn't have trust or control issues. Someone who actually has a chance of making him happy.

Derek isn't that person.

When Derek turns around to place his phone on the night stand he nearly faints.

There isn't a fox on his bed anymore. Nope not a fox. Instead, there is Stiles in the same outfit from earlier today -minus the glasses-  clutching onto a pillow for dear life in his sleep looking more adorable than ever with his cute little scrunched up nose.

Well shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! Sorry it took me longer than usual to update I was in Disney World for my 16th birthday and my co-author had track meets so we didn't write for a bit. I did however learn that one of my readers is from Germany!! (Love chu Smarti ;3) and that got me thinking what other cool places are my readers from? So I was wondering if when you guys comment you could all say where you're from? Nothing specific just the country but if your from America like me then I'd greatly appreciate it if you said the state you're from however this is NOT mandatory so if you don't feel comfortable telling me this information don't worry about it It's perfectly fine I'm just incredibly curious.


	5. Carnivore

 Stiles slept well. Well saying he slept well would be an understatement. A _very big_ understatement since that was undoubtedly the best night sleep Stiles has had in his entire life.

Stiles hasn't slept more than 5-6 hours since he had Scott. The little boy just demanded that they wake up early to eat together at random. 

Stiles woke up in an obscenely large bed with warm, fluffy sheets wrapped comfortably around his slender frame. The morning sunlight indicated that it was still relatively early and he waited until his blurred vision came into focus.

The room was foreign to him; there was a moment of brief panic that settled upon him before all the memories from last night came flooding back to his sleepy brain.

 When he tried to get out of the cozy blanket, something tighten around his abdomen.

His heartbeat skyrocketed exponentially at the sudden awareness that he was not alone in the bed. Quickly he ripped off the covers from his body and looked down to find that he was still fully clothes -well, minus his shoes- and let out an audible sigh of relief knowing that something didn't happen while he was at his most vulnerable.

The relief didn't last long though, because when he turned around to actually look at the person cuddled up next to him, Derek Hale's sleepy angelic face was _right there._

Derek -god of sexiness- Hale is sleeping next to him. _Cuddling up to him! With that stupidly perfect face and sexy bedhead and illegally attractive stubble. Stiles was starting to honestly feel disappointed that something_ _hadn't_ happened last night.

Sexy fun times with Derek Hale? Sign him up.

But there was something different about Derek's orgasm inducing beauty while he slept.

As opposed to when he's awake -all scowls, brooding aura, judgmental eyebrows, and the whole 'bend over for me or I'll rip your throat out with my teeth' vibe he has going for him 24/7- when he's asleep, he looks like a big puppy. A big fluffy, adorable, puppy. His expression was relaxed and peaceful, maybe even content and the sight did things to Stiles.

Stiles _knows_ how attractive Derek is, who doesn't?

However, seeing this made Stiles realize that his attraction toward Derek wasn't just about sex -probably never really was- and that he just wanted to be _with_ Derek.

He wanted to run his fingers through his hair, hug and cuddle with him throughout the day, see his eyes light up when he talks about something he's passionate about, know all the little things that make Derek who he is, help him relax after a stressful day at work, cheer him up whenever he is upset, maybe even meet his family- No.

Nope. Uh-uh, not even going there.

Stiles met him a few days ago and now he's thinking about meeting his family?! He has got to get a hold of this crush he has before it blows up in his face. Stiles will _not_ fall for someone so out of his league they're practically in different dimensions, it will only lead to heartbreak, _his_ heartbreak.

Besides, it's not like Derek would ever look twice at Stiles. He's only being nice to his son's second grade teacher or maybe it's more of a being nice to your boss' son type of thing?

 Either way Derek wasn't being nice because he actually wanted to, it's only because it's the courteous thing to do in both situations. 

Derek doesn't care about him... and probably never will.

And who could blame the guy? Who wants a useless Sub like him?

Definitely not Derek. He could have anyone he wants, why would he want a broken, used thing like Stiles?

With that depressing thought in mind Stiles found his mind snapping back into place, it's rightful place and that is away -far away- from Derek.

He suddenly finds himself in a rush to get back home before Derek wakes up.

Taking notice of the death grip Derek's got him in, Stiles quickly turns into his fox form slipping right out of Derek's grasp.

His fox was whimpering and whining inside his head and itching with a want -no, _need_ to go back into Derek's embrace with an urgency that Stiles never thought possible. Derek literally _whined_ at the loss of contact, scrunching up his face adorably as he did so.

It made Stiles feel bad about leaving and his fox was one second away from leaping back into the wolf's arms and never moving away from his warmth ever again.

He forcefully pushed the thought into the back corridors of his mind as he exited the alpha's room through the slightly opened door.

When the fox reached the living room he couldn't help but stop and feel a warmth blossom in his stomach when he saw Scott's dark brown puppy form sleeping half on top of Isaac's golden one.

Stiles made sure to move across the room as quiet as a mouse in an effort to make as little disturbance as possible in a room full of werewolf puppies. He quickly exited the Hale house and sprinted home.

When he finally reached his house he couldn't wait to just slump on his bed and forget all about the sickening lump in his throat that had formed just a few moments after he left the Hale house. However, the universe must take pleasure in making his life a living hell because the acrid smell of none other than Theo stung his nose the second he opened the door.

Stiles honestly shouldn't have been so surprised. After Derek saved him last night he knew that Theo was going to put him back in his place again the moment he found a chance.

 He just figured he would have a few days to prepare himself for the punishment Theo has in store for him. Apparently, Theo had another ideas.

Stiles' heartbeat skyrocketed when he turned to see Theo just a few feet in front of him. 

The Dom had an icy mask displayed on his features but his eyes gave him away. His eyes were furious and deadly, bleeding a bright steel blue.

Stiles knew he was in for the punishment of a life time that would send him knocking on death's door. The Sub was shaking violently in place, too scared to move even a centimeter until Theo tells him to.

It wasn't until Theo pulled out a knife out of thin air that his mouth finally learned how to function again.

"No, no! Theo please!! Don't kill me! Scott needs me!! I'm sorry! Whatever I did to make you mad enough to think of homicide I won't ever do it again!!! I SWEAR!!! Please Theo you're a cop!! You can't afford to have a criminal record!! They'll fire you and put you in jail for who knows how long! Plus I'm the sheriff's son!! Not a good idea to kill the son of the sheriff! Theo please, just don't kill me please!!" Stiles had no shame right now. He was begging and crying and doing anything he could think of in order to convince Theo to not kill him right then and there. 

"Why would you think I would kill you?" Theo's calm voice silenced Stiles' pleads instantly.

"Uh, you know, ha. Knives are you, ya know sharp and p-painful. It's what murderers use! And you pulling it outta no where and starting to walk toward me definately doesn't give off killer vibes. Nope, not at all!" Stiles was still sobbing as he spoke but his brain-to-mouth filter clearly saw it as the opportune time to take the day off.

Theo chuckled and his eyes had this maniacal gleam that made Stiles' stomach grow cold. "I'm not going to kill you Stiles."

"You're not?" His voice was barely above a whisper and he refused to believe that what Theo was saying was true.

"Of course not, I just figured that if you're looking to other Dom's for attention, then I've been depriving you of what you need for too long."

Stiles was completely confused at to what Theo thought it was he 'needed' that had to do with a knife that doesn't end in his death. Then Theo pulled out some rope and everything clicked into place.

"You ready to play Stiles?" Theo said with a predatory grin on his face.

Stiles was mortified. He is very vocal about his dislike of knife play or any play that would draw blood during a scene other than biting or scratching. Theo _knows_ that; it was the first thing that came out of Stiles' mouth when they met and yet... he's talking to him as if it was nothing. As if him doing this isn't a complete violation of Stiles' hard limits. But, then again, Theo never really cared about any of those things anyways.

Stiles would have to be incredibly naïve to think that Theo would actually respect his limits.

Still, even if Theo is committing a crime it's not like Stiles didn't deserve it. He ran away from his Dom and sought comfort in the arms of the Alpha of Beacon Hills.

Any Dom would be furious, especially one as possessive as Theo, so, in reality, Stiles should just be grateful that he's going to escape with his life...hopefully.

Stiles didn't dare bring himself to move, holding his breath as Theo tied his arms and legs together as he lay on the floor with the rope digging into his skin. He made sure not to utter a sound as Theo placed the cold blade of the knife in his stomach, slicing through the skin, leaving a thin trail of blood drizzling behind it.

"You really don't know how good you have it don't you? To just have the guilt and sorrow dissipate from your conscience with only receiving a little bit of pain. Meanwhile the rest of us need to feel those emotions on a daily basis without having a form of relief. I bet it must be nice for guilt to be a fleeting thing for you; for it to be easily replaced by drowsiness. But what happens when you don't feel guilty for what you've done? What happens when you deliberately disobey your Dom everyday even after receiving your punishment? Do you like punishment Stiles? Is that why you never do anything right? Is it because it's the _only_ thing you can do right? Does a worthless piece of shit like you need to be punished in order to feel wanted? That's pathetic. I honestly don't know what you would do without me. Do you truly think that  _Hale_ of all people actually wants anything to do with you? Don't flatter yourself Stiles. The only way a person will ever want you is if they're blind, deaf, and in a coma on another continent and even then I highly doubt they'd want a useless thing like you."  

Theo's cruel words sliced through Stiles deeper than the knife itself.

Stiles already _knows_ all these things. He knows that he's worthless, that he's pathetic, that Derek doesn't give a fuck about him, that no one will ever want him, that he can't do anything right, that he's nothing and deserves nothing, and that Theo is the only person that cares enough to tell him that.

But that doesn't make the words hurt any less. Doesn't make the accusations any less painful. Stiles knows that what Theo is saying is completely true even without listening to his heartbeat, he knows it was steady as he said every word.

"Let's see how much pain a little fox prince can take, shall we?" Theo sneered with a joyous spark in his eye as he looked down at Stiles.

Just like that all hell broke loose.

Theo threw all remains of self-control out the window as the knife slashed through Stiles feverishly.

He cut deeply into any part of Stiles' body he could dig the blade into. Theo had a maniacal smile on his face as he made Stiles look more and more like a bloody mess, not caring how he was completely destroying Stiles' clothes or the fact that the living room floor was being painted crimson by the Sub's blood.

Stiles noticed that his wounds weren't healing and the cutting of the knife left a burning sensation on his skin long after the blade moved to the next piece of flesh to penetrate. The knife must have been laced with foxglove.

Stiles couldn't stop bleeding and his head was feeling incredibly light as he watched Theo stab into him with the knife once more, but the actions were blurred and distant. Almost as if it were happening to someone else.

Dark spots made their way into his vision and Stiles knew that he was losing too much blood. He had to get Theo to stop.

"Foxglove!" Stiles yelled out but it sounded more like a strained whisper.

"Aww that's so cute, you figured it out! Good for you Stiles."

"N-no, Theo, FOXGLOVE!! My safe word!! It's f-foxglove" Stiles was whimpering in frustration.

It was obvious that Theo understood what he was saying, he was just playing dumb to see how far he could push Stiles.

The knife didn't stop, didn't even slow down, it was still cutting into Stiles with vulgar enthusiasm. Stiles could feel the foxglove making its way into his bloodstream, slowing down the healing process immensely.

"Theo, stop! Foxglove!! Foxglove!!! FOXGLOVE!!!!" Stiles felt more light headed with every passing second, letting the desperation escape his lips in a blind panic.

The sound of Theo's villainous laugh was slowly faded until it was nothing but background noise.

Stiles tried to scream but the only thing that made it past his lips was a weak strangled noise that could hardy be heard before he finally drifted into complete darkness.

 

* * *

 

 Theo was staring down at Stiles' limb body in disgust.

This was the person his father gave his praise to? His father honestly thought that this little runt was capable of 'great things'? If only he could see what a useless piece of shit the stupid fox prince grew up to be.

What did his father ever see in him anyway? What does this dumb fox have that he doesn't?

So what if Theo wasn't a werewolf in the Alpha/Beta category like his older siblings, he was still a Dom like everyone else. He's actually stronger than his brothers, that has to count for something!

His father was wrong, he has always been wrong. He was not the runt of the liter, he was not the one who ruined everything, he was _not_ weak!

He can't be.

 

_'Listen here runt, there is going to be a very important guest coming over tonight and I don't want you ruining anything got it?'_

_'Yes, father.'_

_The man gritted his teeth barely holding back a vicious snarl as he said 'Don't you ever call me that. There are no weaklings in my family. You are not my son.'_

_'Of course... sir.'_

.

.

.

_'Hey runt, you going to watch the Stilinski prince's presentation or what?' His eldest brother, Drake, shouted from where he was perched on the couch._

_'Why would I want to watch a reporter rant about a dumb baby just for being born? It's stupid.' He practically growled out._

_'Damn, so much hate for a 6 year old.' His brother, Dylan, teased as he walked over to take his seat between Drake and Darian._

_'At least I'm not a moron like you.' He spat out before he even realized his mistake._

_Dylan leaped off the couch and had him pinned with his back against the wall instantly._

_'What did you say punk?' He sneered just a few inc_ _hes from his face._

_Theo wasn't afraid. One of his older brothers might seem to be a few seconds away from snapping his neck but he knew better than to let them get the best of him. They won't spilled blood until they become alphas; they won't seriously hurt him until then._

_When he didn't say anything Dylan huffed and let his grip around his neck loosen a bit. 'That's what I thought. Don't forget your place runt.' Dylan let go of him and went to reclaim his seat next to his other two siblings._

_Shortly after, father came home and instantaneously took his rightful place on the armchair._

_'Daphne, come here!'_

_Not even a second later mother was right in front of father, head bowed and shoulders hunched, like a good little Sub. Father gestures for her to sit and she quietly settles on the floor with her head rested on his knee. He gives Theo the same gesture and he reluctantly sat on the floor with his back against the coach._

_Why does he need to sit like a Sub? Theo is 100% sure that he's a Dom no matter if he hasn't presented yet, it's obvious, why does his father still make him perform this way if he can clearly tell that he's not a Sub?_

_He just needs to wait._

_When he finally presents as a Dom his father can't make him do things like this anymore._

_He just needs to wait his turn._

_._

_._

_._

_Nothing changed. He finally presented as a Dom like he always knew he would and nothing fucking changed!_

_His father still treats him like shit, his brothers still tease him for being the 'runt', and his mother is as useless as always. He thought that things would be different once he showed that he wasn't a runt. He thought he'd finally get some damn respect in this house hold; is that too damn much to ask?!?_

_NO IT ISN'T._

_Fuck this, he doesn't need to deal with this shit anymore, he's a fully registered Dom. So what if he's 13 years old, he knows how to take care of himself._

_It's not like any of them are going to care whether he's gone or not._

_But they've humiliated him for far too long. He won't let them off the hook without paying the price. They all deserve to burn in hell for all the shit they put him through._

_'Theo? Where are you going sweetie?' His mother's small voice rings in his ear for a moment before he turns to stare blankly at her._

_'Out.' He says before swiftly turning back around, fully intending on leaving without a second thought._

_Of course his idiotic mother doesn't get the memo, so, she places a hesitant hand on his shoulder as she whispers, 'You can't go outside now, it's time for bed.'_

_Theo quickly turns and slaps her across the face._

_'Don't you dare tell me what I can and can't do, Sub.' He sneers before promptly marching out the door._

_They'll get their punishment. All of them._

_He only needs a few things in order to get his revenge...and he knows just the group to give it to him._

_._

_._

_._

_'Theo Raeken are you willing to do all that is necessary to reach our ultimate goal even if it involved putting your life in danger or taking the life of another?'_

_'Yes.'_

_Cheers erupted from the all around once the oath was completed._

_Little did they know they would be the ones doing his dirty work without even realizing it._

_._

_._

_._

_The flames were gorgeous as they danced throughout the house. Theo took a few steps back to get a better view of his beautiful masterpiece._

_The house where he spent his childhood looked breathtaking engulfed in all the fire._

_Truly one of his finest works._

_He started making his retreat when a voice stopped him right in his tracks._

_'I forgive you.'_

_His mother's frail voice echoed in his head through the mind link and just like that all the anger he spent bottling up since he left suddenly made its way to the surface._

_'You have nothing to forgive. You've earned you're punishment.' He growled back through the link barely keeping his eyes from flashing their cold blue._

_'You're right... I'm sorry I couldn't give you the love you needed.'_

_'I DON'T NEED SOMETHING AS FOOLISH AS LOVE!' he was visibly shaking with hardly controlled rage._

_Why isn't she dead yet? Everyone else is dead, how could she survive longer in those flames than a bunch of alphas?_

_'Oh Theo... You've always needed it.'_

_'Fuck. You.'_

_Theo kept walking and didn't turn back. After a few more minutes he couldn't sense anything through the link._

_Good._

_._

_._

_._

_Theo was in the middle of his daily run through one of Montana's many national parks when he feels someone following him. He grabs the person's neck, letting his claws extend without a second of hesitation._

_'Well that escalated quickly.'_

_Theo raised his eyebrow in slight surprise at the remark. Most people would be screaming or begging for mercy or something by this point._

_The girl in front of him smirked before she extended her right hand toward him even though he still had his claws around her neck._

_'Kate Argent, -'_

_'Argent?' He tightened his hold on her neck slightly._

_The Argent name is famous for housing many generations of the most ruthless werewolf hunters in the world. However, they are known for living in France and other European nations, so, seeing one in Montana of all places can't be anything good._

_'Yeah, as you can probably guess I don't usually go out of my way to socialize with your kind but I think you could be of use to me.' She explained with a confident smirk plastered on her face._

_'Why would you think that?' Theo questioned finally releasing his hold on her neck._

_'Lets just say I liked the show you put on 2 years back and was wondering if you can help me do something similar.' Her smile was unnaturally wolfish for a hunter but Theo liked the sound of where this was going._

_'Alright, I'll see what I can do but not without setting some ground rules.' He said in a serious tone._

_Apparently his change in attitude did nothing to lessen Kate's enthusiasm as she playfully said, 'I always play by the rules.'_

_Theo had to suppress a smirk of his own before he continued, 'First of all, I am only going to teach you what to do; I am not going to help you actually get it done. Also, if you get caught I don't want any fingers pointed at me; if you get caught then you're problem not mine. And lastly, after this is over with our ties to each other are permanently cut; we go our separate ways and never see each other again for the rest of our lives got it?'_

_'Got it.' Kate assured seeming uninterested._

_'So, who's your target?' Theo asked letting his curiosity get the best of him._

_'The Hales.'_

_Oh this will be fun._

 

 Theo looked down at the Sub's unconscious, bleeding body once more. He wanted nothing more than to leave the werefox in his bleeding state until it resulted in his inevitable death, but, he couldn't do that. He has direct orders to keep the werefox alive until his 'leader' said it was time to take action.

So, he cleaned the werefox's wounds until he was sure that there was no more foxglove in his system and loosened the ropes around his wrists just enough to have the Sub experience some sort of struggle to get out.

Once he was done making sure the werefox didn't die -no matter how much he wants him to- Theo stands and leaves Stiles' house. 

Just a bit longer. All he has to do is wait a bit longer and all of his meticulous planning will finally pay off.

Everything will go just as he planned.

 

* * *

 

 Derek woke up feeling cold and heart broken when he opened his eyes to realize that Stiles wasn't curled up in his arms anymore. His scent was still faintly in the room so he couldn't have left too long ago...

Derek suddenly had an urge to find Stiles immediately. His wolf was restless and his senses seemed sharper, as if searching for a threat.

He had this nagging feeling in the back of his mind telling him to find Stiles and protect him from anything and everything but he quickly discarded the thought.

His wolf was probably just upset that his mate wasn't with him.

Derek knew that Stiles didn't want him but to have it confirmed hurt him more than he'd like to admit.

He wasn't even planning on staying in the room when he saw Stiles sleeping on his bed. He was going to leave the room and sleep in one of the guest bedrooms but then Stiles whined in his sleep and it broke Derek's heart to just leave him all alone like that, so, he sat down on the bed to try and comfort him.

How was he supposed to know that Stiles would cuddle him in his sleep? Not only that but when Derek tried to move even the slightest bit Stiles would down right _growl_ at him!

It was only after Derek put his arms around him that the fox let out a satisfied sigh and that shattered Derek's heart completely. Simply remembering how Stiles instantly relaxed into him last night hurts him more than anything he's dealt with before because for a second everything felt like it was _real_.

Last night he thought that maybe just maybe Stiles felt the same way about him. That maybe he could hold Stiles in his arms like that every night. That maybe they could be a real thing and not some idealistic fantasy in Derek's mind. That maybe he could actually be happy with the person he loves...

But that clearly isn't going to happen.

Stiles was just trying to seek comfort after a scary encounter with another wolf. He didn't want Derek... Probably just wanted someone to anchor him for a bit and once that anchor wasn't needed anymore- he left.

Derek determinedly ignored the stinging in his eyes and quickly made his way to the bathroom to get ready for a day full of rambunctious wolf pups.

When Derek finally made it down stairs he found that all the pups were still fast asleep except one. The pup has dark brown fur with glowing yellow eyes and is currently teething on a throw pillow. Derek shifts into his wolf form before walking over to stand directly in front of the pup.

_'Stop biting that'_

The pup stops mouthing at the pillow and looks up at him for a few seconds before he continues biting the pillow.

Derek scowls for a moment but takes the pillow away from the pup and places it on top of the kitchen island, far from the pup's reach. He goes back to the living room only to see that the pup is glaring at him from his place on the couch.

_'Get off the couch'_

_'No'_

Derek hesitates for a moment when he hears the pup's voice through the mind link, he's heard this voice before, he's sure of it but he can't figure out from where until he looks at the pup on the couch again.

_'Scott?'_

_'How do you know my name?'_  

_'Scott, it's me Derek, now off the couch'_

_'You can't tell me what to do'_

_'Scott'_

_'Mommy says it's not nice to growl at people!!'_

Derek visibly freezes at that. Stiles has a wife? No wonder he left! He probably felt guilty or angry or even.. disgusted! But everything Stiles has said to him seemed to say other wise.

Why would Stiles say it's just him and Scott if he had a wife? How come he's never mentioned her before?

So many questions were going through Derek's mind. He felt so confused and frustrated, his situation with Stiles only seems to get worse by the second.

_'I KNEW IT!!!'_

Before Derek could even register what was going on Scott jumped off the couch, landing on Derek's head.

_'I knew you liked mommy! I knew it!!'_

_'Scott I haven't even met your mom'_

_'course you have silly, I can smell him all over you'_

_'Scott I don't think-'_

Wait... Him?

_'THEN YOU NEED TO START THINKING DEREK!! MOMMY DOESN'T LIKE DUMB PEOPLE SO YOU NEED TO START BEING SMART OR ELSE MOMMY ISN'T GOING TO LIKE YOU BACK'_

  _'Scott do you call Stiles mommy?'_

_'DEREK!!!! I just told you to be smart! Of course I call mommy, mommy you fool!!'_

_'Fool?'_

_'It means a silly person. Gosh Derek you need some alphabet soup'_

Alphabet soup? Fool? What the hell is Stiles teaching this kid?

_'Scott?'_

_'Yeah?'_

_'Stop biting my ears'_

_'NEVER!!'_

Derek huffs a breath before lying down on the floor, resolutely ignoring Scott's teething. 

After a few more minutes other pups started waking up but none of them seemed to want to bother Derek... except Scott apparently, who still hasn't stopped chewing on his ears.

It isn't until Isaac's blonde puppy form catches Derek's attention that he gets an idea.

_'Hey Scott, you know what's really fun?'_

_'What?'_

_'Playing with Isaac'_

_'Does Isaac like to play tug of war!?!?!?'_

_'He loves it'_

Scott wastes no time jumping off of Derek's head and scampering off only to tumble over Isaac in the process.

This is going to be a long week.

 

* * *

 

 It's been 6 days since Stiles last saw Scott and he's practically bursting with anxiety every passing second. He and Scott mind link every hour from the moment Scott wakes up to the minute he falls asleep but it's not enough.

His fox is itching to see his pup; to make sure he's okay like he insures he is and it's not even his fox that's making him agitated! Stiles has never been separated from Scott for so long and now he's just praying that the universe shows him some damn compassion and allows time to go faster so he can finally see his pup.

Obviously that isn't what the universe has in mind considering it's still _11 in the fucking morning_ and he can't pick up Scott from the Hale house until 6 p.m. which is honest to god slowly driving him toward insanity.

Lydia seems to take pity on him though, because she insists on taking him out somewhere instead of letting him mope around in his house until the times come to pick up his little ray of sunshine.

God he needs a social life.

 Which is how Stiles found himself eating lunch with Lydia at the mall looking at fonts... _fonts!_

"Stop complaining Stiles. I already have the venue, guest list, menu, cake, wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses, your tux, centerpieces, bouquet, DJ, photographer, videographer, minister, and wedding favors. Now all I have to do is focus on the little details in order to have the most perfect wedding imaginable." She reasons, not looking up from her tablet.

"But Lyds... It's a font."

"And a font says a lot about a person Stiles! If the font it too brash and bold it makes me look reckless and impulsive, if the font is too detailed and baroque it makes me look narcissistic and freakishly controlling. So unless you want people to get the wrong impression, we need to find a font that represents who I am. It needs to be elegant, polished, and professional. "

"Won't your dear Jackie want a say on the font then? It's his wedding too." Stiles teases before stuffing a handful of curly fries in his mouth.

Lydia glares at him viciously. "You want to find a font that is self absorbed, whinny, and has self identity issues?" 

The werefox snorts at that, "Does it come in size 12?"

Lydia would usually hit him up side the head whenever he would describe Jackson in that way, so, the fact that she just said that about her fiancé without a moment of hesitation proving him right is hilarious. And Lydia never tells Stiles he's right... _ever_.

It makes the situation so much more amusing than it should be.

Before long they finally settled on a font called Chopin Script. It took a bit of convincing on Stiles' part to get Lydia to realize that there isn't a font in the world perfect enough to represent her as a person and she should choose the one she liked best.

 Stiles was in the middle of eating a very delicious curly fry when his phone vibrates in his pocket. When he checks to see who texted him his apatite is suddenly gone.

**Theo: You're getting fat. Stop eating so much and go to the gym before you get any uglier.**

Stiles doesn't reply before stuffing his phone back in his pocket.

Theo has been sending stuff like that for the past 2 months or so but recently they've been becoming more frequent. Usually he gets them once maybe twice a week... but ever since the day after the Harvest Moon he's been getting them no less than 5 times a day!

Stiles has gotten pretty good at ignoring them but for the last couple of days the messages have really started to get to in his head. Yesterday he almost had a full blown panic attack after Theo sent him the forth text of the day saying 'Everyone who has ever loved you was wrong.'

 "Stiles? Stiles, you okay?" Stiles snapped out of his thoughts only to meet Lydia's concerned eyes looking at him worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Um...L-Lyds? Do, um, do you think that maybe we need to go on another shopping spry to get me a new wardrobe?"

When Lydia opens her mouth to answer Stiles panics and keeps rambling even though his brain is screaming at him to shut the hell up.

"It's just that I've been thinking that maybe these clothes aren't really for me, you know? I know that you have amazing fashion sense and all but to be honest I really feel like the clothes I have are too nice for me. It kind of makes me think I'm playing dress up every day of my life, trying to look like something I'm not."

Lydia was analyzing him now. Stiles shrunk under her intense gaze, trying to make himself as small as possible.

"Stiles, your wardrobe is fine. You look amazing in every outfit you put on and you're not playing dress up every day Stiles, believe it or not the clothes only accentuate your assets. They don't make you a different person. So, how about you tell me who got that stupid idea in that smart brain of yours so I can make you a necklace out of their bones."

Stiles laughed but was secretly grateful that Lydia will always have his back whenever he needs anything. Even if that includes murder. "That's not really necessary. I came up with that stupid idea all on my own."

"Well, seeing as I don't have a name for my 'to kill' list I'm going to use the restroom and then you're going to help me make the wedding invitations." She announced before walking off toward the bathrooms.

Not a minute after Lydia disappeared into the bathroom Stiles felt someone breathing down his neck. "What are you doing Stiles?" Stiles heard Theo say from behind him. "Don't you see what a pathetic presence you are? You're stupid, useless, irrelevant, and a completely hideous thing to look at. No one wants you Stiles. Not even the Sheriff."

Stiles was trying his best to keep his breathing consistent and the stinging in his eyes at bay but he knew that the tears wouldn't take long to start spilling over. His dad is a touchy subject and Theo knows that. He'll use it to his advantage and Stiles can't do anything about it because he knows it's all true.

"You know what he said Stiles? He said that the only thing he regrets in his life is having you as a son."

Yep. That did it. 

Tears were falling down Stiles' face but he wasn't paying attention to that. Stiles was too busy paying attention to Theo's completely steady heartbeat as he said those words. The words that Stiles knew all his life were true but never accepted. Until know. 

"You know Stiles, if you died today, no one would care." Theo whispered calmly.

 Stiles sat there in shock. His mind was thinking of 50 different things at the same time and his head was starting to hurt. The tears continued to run down his face. Not like he was trying very hard to stop them anyway. 

He felt distant from the world. Like the whole world had completely stopped moving around him. That is until he heard the sound of bone breaking.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HIM?!?!?"

Stiles looked up to see Lydia holding Theo by the collar of his shirt looking a millisecond away from throwing him across the Atlantic ocean while blood seeped out of his mouth. 

"YOU HAVE 5 SECONDS TO TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK YOU DID TO MY BEST FRIEND BEFORE I TAKE YOUR EYEBALLS OUT OF YOUR SOCKETS AND SHOVE THEM DOWN YOUR THROAT SO YOU CAN SEE MY PERFECTLY POLISHED NAILS RIP YOUR INTERNAL ORGANS OUT OF YOUR BODY!!!"

 "I don't need to tell you anything. That pathetic little thing over there is my Sub, you have no right to intervene."

"BULLSHIT!!! DO YOU SEE A COLLAR ON HIM?! NO!! DO YOU SEE A SUBBAND ON HIM!?! NOPE! DO YOU EVEN SEE HIM WEARING ANYTHING THAT REPRESNTS THAT HE'S TAKEN?!?! NO, YOU DON'T! AND DO YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE HE'S NOT YOUR FUCKING SUB DIPSHIT! AND IF YOU EVEN SO MUCH AS GET WITHIN 100 FEET OF HIM I'LL HAVE MY HEELS SO FAR UP YOUR PRISSY LITTLE ASS THAT YOU'LL BE COUGHING UP LEAPARD PRINT FOR THE REST OF YOUR WORTHLESS LIFE!!!" Lydia punches him in the face again, making Theo stumble backwards and fall on the floor.

She instantly grabbed Stiles' arm and dragged him back to the car without sparring another glance at Theo.

"You didn't need to do that Lydia, I was fine." Stiles said as soon as Lydia sat in the driver's seat of her Prius C.

"I knew you'd say that. That's why I did it." She explained as she started driving out of the mall parking lot.

"A lot of people were watching you make a scene." He said distantly, trying to stop replaying Theo's words in his head over and over again.

"I don't care if people were watching or not. All I care about is making sure that douche never goes near you ever again." Lydia proclaims as she soothingly rubs the nape of his neck.

"That douche is one of my dad's deputies." He informs grimly.

"Not in 10 minutes he won't." 

"Lyd-"

"Stiles, anyone who thinks it's okay to treat someone like that has no business in the Beacon Hills Police Department unless it's behind bars." She stats with a determination in her voice that says he's wasting his breath trying to argue.

Stiles looks out the car window and notices that they aren't that far from the Hale house. Maybe he could finally be able to see Scott before 6!

"Lyds, could you stop the car? I want to go for a run. You know, take the edge off?" He asks timidly.

Lydia smiles understandingly at him before giving the back of his neck a reassuring squeeze. "Sure, just be careful."

He gets out of the car and quickly let's his fox take over. He doesn't fight to stay in control, his fox will instinctually look for its pup.

He just wants to forget about his own problems. He wants to be a fox and run for as long as he can until it's time to face reality again.

 

* * *

 

Derek was outside helping the pups with their sparring.

The little ones were really only teething at each other but the older pups, the ones around 10-12 years old, seem to actually be getting the hang of it pretty well.

 The Alpha was in the middle of helping a pup with their pouncing when he suddenly caught a wiff of Stiles' scent in the air. He looked around to see if Stiles was anywhere to be seen but there wasn't a single indication he was there in the first place. He ignored the scent, thinking it was his wolf trying to replicate the presence of his mate or something.

A few minutes later Derek hears his phone ringing in the house. He swiftly changes into his human form, putting Erica and Boyd in charge of the pups while he's gone, and strides into the house. When he picks up the phone he's surprised to see Ms. Martin, the Beacon Hills Banshee, and the Sheriff staring at him through his face time account.

"I called you both to talk about a situation that accured today in the mall a few moments back." The banshee explained with a completely stoic face.

"Ms. Martin, I'm not sure you're aware of this but I'm still off duty. I won't be back until tomorrow morning so whatever it is you wanted to discuss it has to be solely between you and Sheriff Stilinski." 

"I don't care if you're on or off duty Mr.Hale!!! It was one of your deputies that caused this and you're going to shut up and listen to what I have to say!!" She shouted and her face contorted into so much rage Derek had to wonder where she stored that much anger in her petite figure. 

Derek and the Sheriff glanced at each other in confusion before returning their attention to Ms.Martin as she started explaining what happened.

"Me and Stiles were eating lunch at the mall while we tried to find the right font to write the invitations for my wedding in. I went to use the restroom and when I came back I see Stiles crying with Theo Raeken standing behind him, a smirk smack dab on his face. I didn't hear what he said or what he did to Stiles but whatever it was had Stiles shaking and unable to properly form words. So, I confront him, tell him to stay away from Stiles and do you know what the fucker said? He said that Stiles was his Sub and that I have no right to intervene!! I punched him because no way in hell was he getting away with calling Stiles a 'pathetic little thing' in my presence. But this isn't only about the incident in the mall because that idiot gave me a _very_ valuable piece of information without even realizing it."

She breathed in deeply before continuing.

"You see, Stiles has been in an abusive relationship for the past 6 months but no matter what I do he never tells me the name of the Dom that's doing this to him. I've gotten him to tell me some of the things the Dom does to him, and they're horiffic let me tell you, but he never gives a name even when I tell him to report him. He always said that I didn't understand, that it wasn't that simple. Now I know why. It's hard to convince people that the nicest deputy in town is a psychotic maniac. Hopefully this will be enough to get him life in prison without parole because what he did to Stiles was abuse in more than one way and I will not let him go unpunished where he can still torture Stiles." 

"I'll kill him." Derek growl out.

He can't believe that Stiles was going through something like that. His mate was hurting and he did nothing to stop it. But how could he have known anyway? Stiles was always so happy and full of energy, it's impossible for anyone to think that behind that bright smile was someone dealing with an abusive Dom. 

"Now, now, hold on. No one is killing anyone." The Sheriff said gaining Derek's attention.

Derek growl visciously at the Sheriff. This was his mate! How dare John stand there and tell him that bastard isn't going to die after what he did to Stiles.

"We don't even know what really happened. For all we know he could have just been helping stiles."

The banshee snarled at the sheriff.

"Oh yeah I bet he was, it's completely logical why he would fucking help stiles with a smirk on his face because that just screams 'hey pour your heart and soul to me and tell me your problems.' In your fucking dreams John!"

The sheriff sighed heavily. "I'm just saying we need both sides of the story here Lydia. I have gotten to know Theo personally over the time he's been working at the station and I simply can't see him doing that to anyone."

"Well this anyone is your fucking _son_  John!" The banshee suddenly screams, eyes pitch black and flashing.

"If the sheriff doesn't defend his own son against an abusive Dominant then how the hell am I going to expect you to do the same for a complete stranger!?! That monster has been psychologically, emotionally, and physically tormenting Stiles for half a year and you're taking his side!!!"

"I'm not taking anyone's side Lydia I'm just-" The sheriff tried to reason but Ms.Martin cut him off before he could say anything else.

"I don't care, just make sure that he never sees the light of day again. Get your shit together John. Mr. Hale, take care of Stiles until I come pick him up." 

"Wait... What?" Derek asked, completely blindsided by Ms. Martin's demand.

The banshee roles her eyes at him before explaining, "Stiles is in the preserve. Find him and take care of him until I come to pick him and Scott up at 6. Also, Stiles is most likely more fox than human right now so be extra careful with him." She concluded before ending the call.

 Derek stood there for a good few seconds before he bolted out door.

_'Boyd, Erica, get all the pups inside the house'_

_'Okay'_

_'Go save Bambi boss, we got this!'_

 Derek doesn't bother refuting Erica's comment, too busy already tracking Stiles' scent in the woods not too far off from the house.

After a few minutes of searching Derek found himself staring at a little ball of white fluff a couple of feet away from him.

The fox was extremely tense, as if he was ready to sprint through the cascade of trees at any moment, but otherwise seemed to not have noticed his presence yet.

Derek started to slowly approach the small fox, trying his best not to make any noise that could startle the little creature into running. He was only about 2 feet away when he accidentally stepped on a twig. Nice going Hale.

The fox jumped at the sound and somehow managed to trip over itself in the process of turning around to face him.

Derek had to bite down on the inside of his cheek in order to stop himself from smiling at the sight of a 'sly' fox having a spaz attack right in front of him.

His amusement was short lived, however, because a second later Stiles is snarling at him with his claws extended. Both are clear signs of aggression but Derek can smell the fear coming off of him in waves and he realizes how intimidating he must look to Stiles right now.

Derek quietly crouches down in order to seem small and nonthreatening to the tiny fox. Stiles stops growling but doesn't change his posture in the slightest. Derek considers it a victory, a small victory, but at least he got Stiles to stop baring his teeth at him.

He cautiously moves his hand towards Stiles and instantly halts the motion when the fox takes a step back from him.

"Hey, no, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you, come here little fox, don't be afraid." Derek says in the softest voice he could manage.

Stiles doesn't step closer to him but the tension from his stance dissipates slightly at the sound of his soothing voice.

"That's it. Come on little one, I won't bite."

The fox takes a cautious step toward him and his head slowly rises to look at Derek as if asking permission to continue.

Derek smiles lovingly as he says, "There you go, keep going, there's nothing to be afraid of little one."

Stiles tentatively makes his way to him until he is standing just a few inches away from Derek's outstretched hand. Derek stays very still, trying his best to not make any sudden movements that might scare him away.

 The fox moves slightly toward his hand, but instead of sniffing at it like Derek originally planned, Stiles gently placed it on top of his head, looking at him through timid golden eyes.

Derek was taken aback when he felt how incredibly soft the fur was under his fingers and he couldn't resist the urge to lightly pet the fox's head.

Stiles was practically purring at the contact.

Derek lets himself pet the small fox for a few moments but it wasn't until he started scratching behind Stiles' ear that he found what he was looking for.

The Sub seemed to melt into the touch; all the remaining tension in his body vanishing right then and there until he was practically a puddle of white fluffiness on the forest floor.

Derek gently picked him up, cradling the little fox against his chest. Stiles buried his tiny head in the crook of Derek's neck as the Dom continued to stroke his soft fur and walk back in the direction of the house.

When they reach the house Derek takes the small fox coddled in his arms up stairs into his bedroom. Once they were inside Derek gently placed the little fox on top of the bed before he perched himself at the edge of the bed.

Stiles was sitting directly on his lap not a second later.

"Think you can turn back for me little one?" Derek asks softly.

The fox simply blinked at him before laying down on his lap, seemingly content to stay there and never leave.

The small creature was looking up at him with complete adoration, as if Derek was the greatest thing in the entire universe.

Derek couldn't stop the small smile that made it's way to his face. Stiles was just so adorable in his tiny fox form. Not that Derek doesn't think Stiles is adorable as a human -because he totally does- but Stiles is so much more open in his fox form compared to when he's human.

Then again, this is Stiles in his most primal state. It's obvious he'll be more trusting toward his mate like this than he would be as a human, even if he doesn't realize it.

Derek tries to get Stiles to switch back several times but the only response he can get out of Stiles is a slight purring sound while he pets the small fox.

He lets it go and just enjoys having his mate so close to him. He doesn't know what, exactly, is going on between him and Stiles right now but if this is how Stiles reacts to him in his fox form then Stiles must at least share _some_ of his feelings towards him.

After a while Stiles jumps off his lap and sprints downstairs faster than Derek thought was possible. Derek quickly runs after him and picks him up once he finds Stiles sitting in front of the door in the living room.

He's about to ask what that was about before he hears a car coming towards the house.

Derek wonders if it's because Stiles is fully shifted or if werefoxes just naturally have better hearing than werewolves that he was able to hear the car coming so much sooner than Derek.

A moment later Ms. Martin is knocking on the front door.

Derek swiftly opens the door to let her in with Stiles still in his arms and she takes in the sight with a knowing smirk.

"Scott, Stiles, time to go." The banshee calls out soon followed by the sound of scampering footsteps.

"Auntie Lydia! What are you doing here? I thought Daddy was-" Scott cuts himself off as he quickly spins around to see a little fox Stiles in Derek's arms.

"Daddy!!" Scott screams as Stiles leaps out of Derek's hold, landing directly in Scott's arms.

The little boy squeals in delight as the fox makes sure not to leave a single part of his face un-licked. The banshee just rolls her eyes at them fondly before ushering them out of the house.

They are almost out the door when Stiles suddenly jumps off of Scott and climbs Derek like a tree until the fox was right in front of Derek's face. Stiles presses his nose up against Derek's before he runs out of the house towards the banshee's car.

 

* * *

 

 Isaac was waiting for Derek to come pick him up when Danny ran up to him excitedly, almost tripping as he abruptly stopped in front of the blonde werewolf. 

"Isaac! Are you going to the lacrosse tryouts this Friday? Please say you'll come and try out, please!!! I'll be there and Scott said he's going to tryout too so will do it? It's really fun and my dad's the coach and you'll love lacrosse I just know it!!" He exclaimed with pleading eyes that made Isaac blush slightly.

"But what if I'm not any good?" The little werewolf inquired self-consciously.

"Don't be stupid, you'll do great! Besides it's not like you're not going to make the team, dad says coaches don't start taking tryouts seriously until middle school and that gives you plenty of time to learn all the rules and moves and get good at it and we'll have so much fun Isaac! Just think! You, me, and Scott playing lacrosse together and practicing and becoming super good and hanging out and laughing and goofing off and, and it'll be so incredibly awesome Isaac!! Please?"

Isaac opens his mouth to respond to Danny but before he can get a word out he smells Derek approaching the classroom. Before he even realizes what he's doing, he finds himself latched onto the alpha's left leg.

"Der!! Can I tryout for lacrosse on Friday?! Danny says it's really fun and he and Scott are going to be there! Can I go? Please!!" The young boy pleads, giving the Dom his best puppy dog eyes.

Derek looks surprised and doesn't say anything for a few seconds before finally speaking up, "Isaac are you sure about this? You've never shown any interest in this sport before, hell, you haven't shown interest in _any_ sport before."

Isaac visibly deflates at that and Danny, who was now sitting on Stiles' shoulders, looks near tears.

"But you have to let Isaac tryout on Friday!! It won't be as fun without him around and if this is because he doesn't know how to play lacrosse then that's not even a problem!! I've been playing since last year and Scott is starting this year so I'm going to be teaching him anyway plus Scott's a werewolf too so it's not like teaching Isaac will be all that different. Plus my dad's the lacrosse coach and he says Uncle Stiles and him used to play lacrosse together in high school so if we need any help we can ask them but we won't need any help 'cause I'm a great teacher. Please Mr. Alpha sir, it'd be so cool if all three of us could play lacrosse together! Please!?" Danny takes a few seconds to catch his breath, not used to talking so much or so fast. Is this how Uncle Stiles feels all the time?

Derek still doesn't seem convinced and Isaac mentally prepares himself for the 'no' that is guaranteed to come out of his lips.

Instead, he hears Stiles' voice saying, "Maybe it'll be good for him. It could help him become a bit more social and possibly let him grow out of his shell a little. I know for a fact that I certainly didn't talk to anyone other than my teachers when I was in high school before my dad practically dragged me to the lacrosse tryouts and I miraculously got into the team."

Derek looks down at Isaac then back at Stiles and finally settles on Danny's pouting form.

"Fine," he sighs, "but no backing out in the last minute. You asked for this; you're the one that needs to put in the time and effort to make it work."

Isaac smiles brightly up at Derek before turning his attention to the familiar scent steadily walking towards them through the hallway.

"SCOTT!!" Isaac shouts as he tackles Scott to the ground.

"Hey Isaac." Scott replies in between the fits of giggles both of them are experiencing.

It isn't until the giggles subside that Isaac realizes he's surrounded by people he hasn't met before. He cowers a little and tries to hide behind Scott without making it too obvious.

Scott smiles back at him before introducing everyone, "The pretty lady with red hair is Auntie Lydia, the guy next to her is Jax -they're getting married soon- and the beautiful princess is Allison." Scott swoons.

Allison smiles sweetly at Isaac while the other girl -Lydia- gives him a friendly wave and the guy barely looks at him before turning around and leaving.

"Don't mind him angel, Jackie's a total jerk to all living things." Stiles explains as he takes hold of Scott's hand.

"Oh Scott guess what!" Danny yells where he's still perched on Stiles' shoulder blades, "Isaac is going to the lacrosse tryouts on Friday with us!"

"REALLY?!? That's awesome!!" Scott exclaims sending another dazzling smile toward Isaac, causing him to lower his head shyly in order to try and hide his flushed cheeks.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you Isaac but I'm afraid we need to get going. Stiles has to accompany me to my dress fitting." The redhead proclaims as she takes Allison's hand into her own.

"Ugh, again? You just got fitted last month" Stiles whined while Danny groaned into the teacher's hair.

"Stop complaining you're my butler of honor, following me around, being at my beck and call, and helping me make decisions about the wedding is part of your job."

Isaac soon felt Derek's presence behind him but when he looked back at the alpha he seemed tense, like he was trying to physically control his muscles not to move, scowl clearly displayed on his face.

"Goodbye Alpha Hale." Lydia said before swiftly turning on her heels, making her exit through the corridor with Allison following closely by her side.

"Bye Mr. Alpha! Bye Isaac!!" Danny exclaims while waving enthusiastically from Stiles' shoulders.

"Goodbye Derek, see you later Isaac!" Scott called out with a bright smile perfectly displayed on his puppy like face.

"I'll see you tomorrow angel, don't forget to do your homework." Stiles says with a loving smile directed at Isaac.

"I won't forget, Stiles, promise!!" Isaac announced giving the teacher a blinding smile.

"Bye Stiles." Isaac heard Derek gruffly say from where he stands a little behind him.

Stiles looks up at Derek as if to say his fair wells to the alpha but simply nods his head before averting his eyes and quickly walking out of the hallway.

Danny turns around from his place on top of Stiles' shoulders to give them a confused look while Scott on the other hand turns around to send a full on glare towards Derek.

When Isaac looks up at Derek again the Dom looks like someone just poured cold water on him.

He makes sure not to ask about it on the drive back home.

 

* * *

 

 Friday arrives soon enough. Stiles was in the process of finding a place to sit on the benches after dropping off a _very_ excited Scott with the rest of the pee wee lacrosse team members when his eyes meet Derek's.

The same Derek he has been trying to avoid since their last encounter on Monday.

It's not like Derek did anything wrong, heck, Derek was being incredibly kind towards him but Stiles couldn't help it. His fox has never been so openly trusting towards someone other than his Dad and Scott.

Not even Lydia could manage to carry him in his fox form for so long without causing Stiles to become irritated.

And then, he went and rubbed their noses together -which he has only done with the wolf from his dream. Then Derek decides to pop outta no where and surprise him with the 'hey I'm the wolf and Alpha of your dreams but I don't know it yet' routine which confuses the shit out of him.

He's always been a tactile person but his fox has usually kept its distance from anyone that isn't Scott, so, why the hell is his fox all of a sudden so cuddly with the Alpha of Beacon Hills?

The Alpha of Beacon Hills who is currently making his way towards him.

Crap.

 _Way_ before Stiles was ready to even remotely comprehend and construct a valid sentence in the presence of resident god of sexiness, Derek stood just a few feet in front of him, eyebrows furrowed with a large frown and a little pout displayed on his gorgeous face.

"Heeeeey, Derek." Stiles greets awkwardly, trying his best to go for casual and failing spectacularly.

Derek just raises an eyebrow at him, unimpressed. Seriously how was it even possible for eyebrows to look so disapproving?

"So, um, how have you been lately?" Ugh, why in great mother nature's name was he made to be such an awkward turtle.

When Derek crosses his arms over his chest with that leather jacket of wet dreams Stiles finally loses it.

"Okay, I'm sorry! I was a jerk on Monday and I deliberately avoided you this entire week and you seriously don't deserve that because you've been more than nice to me but I didn't know what else to do okay?! My fox never acts that way in front of anyone other than Scott and I have no clue as to why it's acting like this around you and it confuses me! And then you were petting me and carrying me and fucking cooing at me and it felt nice. My fox loved it and I loved it and I honestly don't even know how I remember what happened because I was so far gone into my fox! And that's another thing!! Why was my fox so in control and manage to not bite your finger off when you tried to pet my head? Well, I can't tell you because I can hardly tell what's going on in my own mind let alone my fox's!! So, yeah, in conclusion I'm sorry for being a douche to you this week."

"Stiles?" Derek finally says after Stiles' little monologue.

"Yeah?" Stiles mutters as he rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

"You talk a lot."

Stiles snorts at that, "Yeah,  I know."

Derek shakes his head at him with an expression that seems almost... fond?

"There's an empty space next to me on the bleachers, it's yours if you want?" Derek's voice suddenly grows uncertain, like he truly thinks that Stiles will reject his invitation to sit next to him.

Stiles has no idea where the new fond insecurity came from considering no one in their right mind would even so much as think about saying no to sitting near Derek Hale with his leather jacket of wet dreams.

But... Stiles really should say no.

 If he lets this crush he has on Derek get any stronger he knows he'll be ruined for anyone else, okay? He _knows_  that he'll only dream of Derek's gentle hands caressing him throughout the day and his safe arms holding him all through the night. He knows he'll be totally screwed if he doesn't say no to the Dom's invitation to sit with him.

So, obviously, Stiles says yes.

He follows the alpha towards the bleachers with his head lowered slightly in order to conceal the shy smile that is tugging at his lips.

The game starts shortly after they finish taking their seats. It becomes a blur of cheering and clapping for the two of them. Easily complimented by the way they both laugh and playfully bicker between themselves.

Stiles was in the middle of explaining the point system to Derek when he sees a kid smack Scott on the head with the lacrosse stick -DELIBERATELY!!- from his peripheral vision. Stiles instantly stops talking to Derek as his body goes stiff and all his attention turns to his pup on the field.

Scott doesn't seem seriously hurt -thank _god_ \- but that doesn't make Stiles any less furious.

This kid purposefully hit Scott _in the head! With a lacrosse stick!! when Scott didn't even have the ball!_

There was no reason for that foul play and if it weren't for Scott's super healing Stiles is sure he'd be crying by now. Stiles waits, his entire body tense, for Jackson to sit the kid down on the benches for unnecessary violence.

Only Jackson doesn't bench the kid that hurt his pup; instead he benches _Scott_ for absolutely no reason!

In an instant, Stiles is standing up from his seat with a sudden craving for Jackson's blood.

He doesn't even register anything going on around him until he faintly hears Derek's voice calling out to him. He promptly ignores it though, nothing is getting in the way of him finding out what idiotic rationalization Jackson came up with in order to justify benching Scott after that injustice on the field.

He hardly realizes how fast he's walking until he's standing in front of a very annoyed Jackson.

"What the fuck was that?! That demonic heathen over there used unnecessary force on Scott when he didn't even have the ball!! That thing just hit him for the sake of hitting him! And don't even think for a second that I didn't catch that smirk on his evil preadolescent features!!" Stiles can feel his eyes glowing a fierce gold as he speaks but does nothing to control it.

He wants Jackson to know just how pissed he really is.

"Stilinski, you coming over here and yelling at me is exactly why I decided to bench Scott. If you come down here to have a hissy fit every time someone touches your precious baby then I rather keep him out of the game where he can't get hurt and keep you perched up on the bleachers where you should be right now." Jackson dismisses, hardly even looking up from his stupid play book.

What the hell even is a point of a play book in pee wee lacrosse? It's not like the youngsters will actually understand half the things that come out of his mouth anyway. It's completely irrelevant to the situation!

Just like Jackson.

"Actually, I'm not having a hissy fit over Scott getting hurt, I'm having a hissy fit over you punishing my pup while the devil's spawn is still running around the field!! So, ha!" 

Stiles feels someone stand next to him but he refuses to take his eyes off of Jackson. If he's lucky he might magically gain heat vision and melt Jackson's stupid face off.

"Oh, Alpha Hale, can you please explain to this _Sub_ that he should stop making a scene and sit down before he can embarrass himself any further." Jackson said with a sickeningly sweet fake smile plastered on his dumb face.

Stiles glares at Jackson before turning to look at Derek's face which seems unimpressed by Jackson's fake smile if his eyebrows are any indication.

Derek glances at him and suddenly he feels Derek gently rubbing soothing circles on the back of his neck. He feels sated as all the tension leaves his body along with all his strength. He leans into the Dom's side slightly to keep his legs from buckling under him.

"Actually, I came here to ask you why you benched Scott." The alpha informs casually while he continues to rub Stiles' neck.

"Well, you see-"

"Put him back in." Derek interrupts before Jackson could start explaining his ridiculous theory again.

"Excuse me?!" Jackson screams looking at Derek with a mixture of fury and confusion.

Derek isn't having any of it, "Put. Scott. Back. In. Simple as that Whittemore."

"Alpha Hale I don't think you understand-"

"Oh, I understand perfectly. Now either you put Scott back in the game and sit out the kid that hit him or I rip your throat out....With. My. Teeth." The Dom explains as he lets his eyes blaze a bright crimson.

"Of course Alpha Hale. Anything you say Alpha Hale. I'll get r-right on it sir, you can return to your seat n-now please. I'll get this little mix up sorted out before you get there, pr-promise." Jackson babbles senselessly as Derek already starts to usher Stiles away towards the bleachers with his thumb still tracing soothing circle on the nape of Stiles' neck.

The Sub can feel his eyes return to their original honey like color as the Dom continues the incredibly comforting motion. He doesn't ever want Derek to stop.

However, Stiles reluctantly pulls away from the alpha's grounding grip when he finally becomes aware of the soreness of his throat.

Damn, he hadn't realized how loudly he was actually screaming at Jackson.

Derek looks at him through saddened eyes and the sight makes Stiles' heart break. Seriously that face can stop the wars in the Middle East.

"I'm just going to drink some water. I'll be back in a minute." Stiles explains before making his way towards the water fountains in the back of the school.

A few minutes later while Stiles is walking back from his little field trip to the water fountains something grabs his arm and slams him against the wall.

Stiles is so taken aback by the sudden pain he feels in his head that it takes him a couple of seconds to get his eyes to focus enough to actually see his attacker.

Let's just say he was hardly surprised when he opened his eyes to see Theo's furious icy blue ones locked on him as the Dom pinned him to the wall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for taking so long in updating again!! It's been testing season and I wasn't able to get a lot of writing done for a while since I spent almost all my free time cramming last minute information into my head for the exams but hopefully now that testing has calmed down somewhat I'll be able to update a bit faster.
> 
> Also how do you guys feel about this chapter?  
> { sorry, not sorry about the cliff hanger!! }


	6. Little Do You Know

  Now, Derek isn't an overly paranoid person -he really isn't! But he has been waiting for Stiles to return for a little over 15 minutes and he's pretty certain it doesn't take that long to drink water.

He knows he's probably overreacting. Stiles is probably perfectly fine, but, he just can't get the idea that his mate is in trouble out of his head. His wolf was practically growling and frothing at the mouth at him to go find Stiles.

Derek swiftly stands from his seat on the bleachers and strides towards the back of the school in search of the werefox.

He breathes deeply and tries to calm himself down but his wolf was becoming more vicious with every step he took. The alpha is so focused on keeping his wolf under control he barely heard someone talking through the heady fog of snarling echoing in his head.

"You think you can win this sick little game you're playing Stiles, huh!? Think your pathetic self can get rid of me?"

Suddenly all of Derek's attention is on the faint voice. His wolf went quiet, as if to let Derek pay extra close attention to the words being said.

"Well, it's not going to work. Wanna know why? The Sheriff may have fired me due to the banshee's little scene the other day but he didn't lock me up because he believes me. He knows I would never do something as awful as hurting a Sub," he snarled in Stiles face. "hell, he even told me he'll get to the bottom of things so I could come back to work once this all blows over. So, tell me Stiles, how does it feel to know that I have the Sheriff wrapped around my finger?"

Derek was hardly able to suppress the thunderous growl making it's way up his throat from his chest at Theo's words.

He had tried his best to make the Sheriff understand that Theo was 100% guilty for what he did to Stiles but the Sheriff just kept saying that Derek always had a weak spot for domestic abuse cases and that he was jumping to conclusions without sufficient evidence even after he and Parrish explained that with everything Ms. Martin had said it was astronomically unlikely that Theo _wasn't_ guilty.

Even then the Sheriff simply stated that Parrish was being biased since the hellhound sees Stiles as a son and that Derek was letting his emotions get in the way of his job.

Parrish made sure to tell John exactly what he thought about the Sheriff of Beacon Hills taking Raeken's side instead of his son's.

Derek doesn't think they've ever had a fight like that; there were a few moments when the alpha seriously thought the hellhound would spontaneously combust into flames with all the rage he was experiencing.

In the end, though, they weren't able to convince Sheriff Stilinski to put Raeken behind bars.

"I'm curious though. It got me thinkin' -How did you ever manage to get Sheriff Hale on your side? There's only one possible way, you're letting him fuck you like the little whore you are."

Just like that his wolf went back to snarling and growling in his head at Raeken's words. However, Derek makes sure to listen to Raeken's voice above his wolf's outraged noises as he made a beeline towards the sound.

"What did you do Stiles? Beg him? I bet you begged Hale to take you. To dominate you. I bet you looked so fucking pathetic, he pitied you and agreed. You're pathetic Stiles. Worthless. Looking to the Alpha for help when you wanted more than I was willing to give. You're selfish, a greedy little whore. You've always been a needy little slut haven't you? Always doing whatever the fuck you wanted instead of being good for your Dom.  Well, I don't know if you've forgotten Stiles but -you belong to me! I own you.  You're still my little slut to fuck whenever I want! You're going to agree to whatever I say because I am your Dom and I know best."

Derek can feel his eyes shifting colors, bleeding into the usual hazel, a vibrant red. His wolf pressed so venomously to the surface he's surprised he hadn't wolfed out or disintegrated.

Stiles doesn't deserve to be treated like this by _anyone-_ let alone this pathetic excuse of a  _Dom._

When Derek finally gets close enough to see the scene taking place he can't help but shift into his beta form because Raeken has Stiles pinned up against the wall, cold, vacant eyes glowing as Stiles tries to blink the tears out of his eyes and the bastard has a fucking _smirk_ on his face!

"Seems to me like my punishments aren't having much of an effect on you. With you thinking you could just  _replace me,_  I'm definitely certain it's having the up most opposite effect on you!" Theo slammed stiles against the wall roughly.

"Me cutting into and carving you're skin like a thanksgiving turkey and me abusing your body like the worthless sub you are, cause that's all you'll ever be good for. Guess I'll just have to resort to more simplistic forms of discipline, maybe I'll mark you right there on that pretty neck of yours. You've never given me the chance to do so before but now..." He smiled eerily but It looked predatory even from this distance, he can see the sweat and rapid breath intake from Stiles. Derek _needs_ to get to him!  _NOW!_

Theo's canines elongated and the now sharpened fangs glinted menacingly in the low light of the moon and emergency lights surrounding the benches. Before he could take a chunk out of Stiles, Derek gnashed his teeth and pounced on Theo, slamming him into the wall as he lets out a deafening roar.

 "DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING TOUCH HIM!!!"

"I'm trying to discipline _my_ Sub, Hale, contrary to what you might be thinking- he still belongs to me no matter how badly he begged you to fuck him!"

"WHAT the ever loving FUCK makes YOU think you can say something like that! YOU KNOW VERY FUCKING DAMN WELL HE ISN'T YOUR SUB RAEKEN!! And even if he fucking _was_ _,_  you CANNOT speak to Subs like they're meager bed warmers! SUBS ARE MEANT TO BE TREATED WITH THE SAME RESPECT AS ANYONE ELSE! Do you even have a contract with him? Judging from that disgusting display I'd say that'd be a 'NO'!" Derek finally breathed, furiously trying to hold onto some form of humanity before he shredded this poor excuse of a man into bits. 

Theo laughed, some blood falling down his nose, "Hale, you know just as well as I do that having a contract is only recommended and isn't something that is required in order for there to be a relationship if there isn't any sex involved."

"BUT CONSENT IS YOU DIPSHIT!" Derek bellowed, voice dark and deep. "He didn't give you consent to abuse him and disregard his humanity!"

"The Sheriff doesn't seem to think so. I guess that means he knows just how much of a worthless piece of shit that thing is-"

"THAT _THING_ IS A PERSON! AN AMAZING PERSON THAT IS WORTH MORE THAN EVERYTHING YOU WILL EVER OWN AND MORE IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE COMBINED! SO DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO HIM LIKE THAT UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO RIP YOUR FUCKING THROAT OUT WITH MY TEETH!"

"Down boy."

That is it! Derek completely lost all sense of restraint; he let all the anger he had been trying to keep hidden inside him finally make contact with Theo -any part of him Derek could beat the shit out of.

Theo had hurt Stiles for the last fucking time. Derek doesn't know the gory details of what Raeken has done to Stiles but he sure as hell is going to find out.

He'll make sure Raeken rots in jail for the rest of his miserable life. If he doesn't kill him before the authorities arrive.

The rancid scent of Theo's blood is thick in the air and Derek is faintly aware of Raeken fighting back even though his attempts are useless. Theo might be a werewolf like Derek but he doesn't stand a chance against an Alpha/Alpha werewolf Dom who is protecting his mate and Theo knows that even if he isn't aware of the whole mate situation.

Derek isn't sure how long it's been since they started fighting but all of a sudden Stiles' scent reaches his nose.

He could smell the fear and the self-loathing and the frustration -but mostly, he could smell the bitter, acidic scent of guilt and shame radiating off of him.

The realization makes Derek feel like someone had poured cold water on him. Stiles was having a sub drop.

 In an instant all of Derek's hatred and fury melts into the back of his subconscious, and bleeds into worry and anxiety.

Stiles dropped and most probably turned into his fox form out of pure animalistic instinct to protect himself -that's the only possible way Derek would ever be able to detect his scent, especially with the scent blockers he always has on.

Derek couldn't risk having Stiles in a drop for too long without being taken care of, and, judging by how Theo knowingly mistreats him, Derek doesn't think Stiles has been helped through a drop properly in a _long_ time.

He can't just let Stiles go through this on his own. Not when he's been hurting for so long and Derek finally has a chance to do something about it.

Derek grips Raeken by his scalp and brings him close to his face. Keeping full eye contact with the other werewolf as he gnarled out,

"The only reason I'm letting you get out of this alive is because I have much more important matters to attend to but don't even  _think_ that means you've gotten away with it scot-free. I'll make sure every single deputy in the country is on the hunt for you and when they find you, I'll make sure to go over there and kill you myself. Now _get_ _out_ of my territory."

Theo glared at him with static, electric blue eyes but it had little affect as he stumbled out of sight.

Derek reigned in his wolf once again as his body morphs back into its human form. His eyes still shinned a bright crimson but he didn't pay much attention to it as he turned around to see Stiles' small fox form curled up into a shivering ball a few feet away.

Stiles was whimpering and shaking like a leaf and it made Derek want to hold him and never let him out of his arms ever again.

"Shhh baby cakes, it's okay, everything is going to be okay. I'm here, just let me take care of you." Derek cooed as he gently cradled the fox in his arms.

Stiles wasn't whimpering anymore but he was still trembling in Derek's hold and Derek knew he had to do something before the drop got any worse.

_'Erica are you finished with dance practice?'_

_'Yep. On my way to the lacrosse tryouts as we speak. How's Isaac doing out there?'_

_'I don't know but I need you to take Isaac to Kira's and tell the banshee to take Scott home once it's over'_

_'Why? What happened?'_

_'I'll tell you later, for now just make sure no one is in the house and that Scott goes home safely'_

_'Consider it done'_

 Derek cut of the mind link while he sprinted over to his Camaro. Once he was seated in the driver's seat with Stiles curled up into a ball on his lap, he jammed the keys in the ignition to start the car.

He knew that driving with a fox on his lap in a car going slightly above the recommended speed limit wasn't the smartest idea, but, he wasn't going to take any chances.

Obviously, every Sub has different needs when they experience a drop but considering how tactile Stiles seems to be behaving Derek highly doubts that denying him physical contact is the best way to help him through his drop.

 

* * *

 

         The drive back to the Hale house is -thankfully- fast and uneventful. The last thing Derek needs is to be pulled over for going 10 miles past the speed limit and having to explain why he has a fox on his lap while driving.

      Parking the car in front of his house, Derek gently lifted Stiles off his lap and cradled the small fox against his chest as he took long strides towards the house. 

Derek took Stiles into his bedroom upstairs where he carefully positioned them so that he was sitting up against the headboard with Stiles lying on his lap. It's easy like this, with Stiles quietly curled up against him and Derek gently stroking Stiles' soft fur.

But he knows this isn't what Stiles needs. Derek knows that if he were to leave things as they are now Stiles' condition might worsen.

"Stiles, can you switch back for me sweetheart? We need to talk."

Stiles doesn't move. In fact, Stiles doesn't give any indication he heard Derek say anything to him. The alpha grows increasingly worried the longer Stiles doesn't respond to him.

He knows that sometimes a Sub can get so deep into a drop, everything around them is practically white noise and if that's the case right now then Derek clearly didn't realize how fast Stiles has been dropping.

"Stiles," Derek says as he gently lifts Stiles' head so that the little fox is looking at him, "Stiles look at me sweetheart, you have to switch back now okay, baby?"

After a few moments Derek almost started to think that Stiles hadn't heard him but when Stiles sat up slowly, he moved off of Derek's lap completely. His small body morphed and the fur receded into his pores and snout shortened.

Soon there was a fully human Stiles sitting less than a foot away from him looking like his mind was anywhere but here.

Stiles' beautiful eyes looked foggy and glassy. Derek couldn't tell if he was shaking from anxiety or if he was actually getting sick.

He knows that in some extreme cases, sub drops can resemble flu symptoms but he's never actually seen it happen. However, judging from the shivering and the slight pink hue dusting Stiles' cheeks and nose, that doesn't seem like such a far fetched conclusion anymore.

Derek reached out and firmly grasped the nape of Stiles' neck with his hand. The moment his hand made contact with Stiles' neck the Sub's eyes fluttered closed.

He gently massaged the glands there to force the scent glands to exude calm hormones. The gesture seemed to ground Stiles a bit more and Derek couldn't help but feel immensely proud of the Sub's reaction to his touch.

"Good boy, you're such a good boy Stiles."

Stiles instantly opened his eyes and his body went tense. Derek moved closer to make it easier to give Stiles the attention he clearly needs but Stiles backed away and started shaking his head ferociously.

Derek's wolf began whining and pawing at the surface. All Derek could think about was _matesadhelpmate._

"I'm not."

It was barely a whisper, more like a sob, but Derek heard it nonetheless. The thoughts flooding his mind stilled as he tried to place the reasoning behind the words.

"Not what?" Derek asked letting his confusion seep into his voice as he spoke.

Stiles fidgeted restlessly with the sleeve of his shirt as he tried to avoid Derek's eyes at all costs. Derek isn't having any of it.

He swiftly holds his index finger under Stiles' chin and slowly lifts the Sub's head until Stiles is looking him in the eye.

"Answer the question, sweetheart. Not what?"

Stiles tries to avert his gaze again but Derek holds onto him firmly, not letting him get away from his grasp.

"I'm not a good boy." Stiles mumbled.

"Of course you are, you've always been a good boy. " Derek reassured as he gently combed his fingers through Stiles hair.

He couldn't understand what in the world could ever make Stiles think something like that, but, then again, he also couldn't understand why someone would ever hurt him the way Theo has.

Still, Subs usually love being praised, especially while in a sub drop, so, Derek honestly can't wrap his head around why Stiles is acting like this.

"No, I am  _not._ " Stiles insisted, but it sounded more like a plea than a statement.

"I'm not a good boy, I'm the exact opposite! I don't follow orders, I break rules, I get distracted easily, I mess everything up, I have a nonexistent brain-to-mouth filter and I am the worst Sub ever!"

"No you're not Stiles."

"Oh, I'm not?! Well what do you call a Sub who fails to follow his Dom's orders? What do you call a Sub who gets punished at least 3 nights a week for breaking his Dom's rules? What do you call a Sub who runs away from his Dom and is constantly being rescued by the Beacon Hills Alpha?! I'm pathetic and-"

"Stiles, you are not pathetic." Derek all but growled out. Stiles stayed quiet but kept his large Doe-like eyes on him, "You aren't a bad Sub, you've just had a horrible, abusive asshole who made you suffer for the fun of it and has the audacity to call himself a Dom. Don't blame yourself for the torture your past Dom inflicted on you, please." Derek couldn't help but point out.

That bastard spent 6 months abusing Stiles and now Stiles is dropping because he thinks this is all somehow _his_ fault.

"Past Dom?" Stiles asked with something resembling hope in his voice. 

"You don't honestly think that I'll let him anywhere near you again, do you? I'll have the entire nation looking for him so he can spend the rest of his life rotting in jail."

Stiles seemed relieved for a moment before his entire body tensed up again.

"Great, now I'm a Sub who got his Dom in jail because he couldn't follow orders."

"Stiles, this isn't your fault."

"Yes it is!"

"Stiles-"

"Are you going to punish me now?" Stiles said in a strained voice, like that was the last thing he wanted to happen.

"But you've done nothing wrong sweetheart."

" _Yes I have_ , Why can't you see that?"

Derek is about to retort but stops himself.

Stiles clearly thinks that he honestly did something he should be punished for and Derek knows Stiles well enough to understand he isn't going to let this go easily, and it's not like Derek can really convince him other wise.

Still, punishing Stiles when he didn't do anything wrong isn't something Derek wants to do; especially now that he's in the middle of a drop.

However, Stiles seems to really be beating himself up about this. If Derek doesn't punish Stiles then he'll most likely end up punishing himself and prolonging the drop.

Derek really doesn't want to punish Stiles for something that wasn't his fault but he knows that not punishing him when he needs it is just as cruel as anything Theo did to him.

"Okay," Derek conceded as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed, "come here."

 Stiles squirmed for a moment under his gaze but placed himself over Derek's knee without much resistance.

"Pants on or off?"

It was a fairly simple question but the way that Stiles tensed up and his hands started to fidget with the comforter made it abundantly clear how nervous Stiles was to answer.

Stiles must think it was some sort of trick question that he had to answer correctly or else Derek would be mad at him. Derek wouldn't be surprised of this was one of Theo's ways to hurt Stiles; make Stiles answer questions and if the answer wasn't what he wanted he was punished.

"Easy, sweetheart, just tell me if you want me to spank you with your pants on or off. Whatever answer you choose is fine with me." Derek soothed drawing little patterns on Stiles' back to try and get him to relax a bit.

"O-off?" Stiles finally answered uncertainly.

The mere fact that Stiles was so unsure of his answer can only mean two things, either Theo has never asked Stiles to give his opinion on something or Theo would hurt Stiles if he didn't answer the way Theo wanted. Both of these scenarios made Derek want to cuddle Stiles in his arms forever and protect him from all the evil in this world.

Instead, Derek simply nodded and slid Stiles' pants down to his knees.

He kept Stiles' boxer briefs on though, he may have gotten Stiles' consent to take his pants off but to take off his briefs as well makes Derek feel like he's overstepping some invisible boundary line.

 Sure, they're mates but for all Derek knows Stiles might not even know what a mate _is_ let alone the importance of it.

That was a conversation for another time though, right now Derek has to help Stiles in anyway he can even if the last thing he wants is to punish Stiles for no good reason. Neglecting Stiles of this can only be classified as abuse and Derek isn't going to cause Stiles any more unnecessary harm.

 "I am only going to give you ten but you have to count each one out loud for me alright, baby?"

Stiles nodded as he buried his face in the comforter. Derek took a few moments to run his hands soothingly over Stiles' back. If he just so happens to be starring at Stiles' ass the entire time, no one needed to know.

Derek gently ran his hand across Stiles thigh in an effort to calm his trembling. When the first strike finally hit, some of the tension was already rolling off of Stiles.

"O-one."

Derek didn't give him much time to adjust to the full impact of the blow as he kept a fast pace. The strikes were fast and meticulous, some blows were more powerful than others, but effective all the same. By the time the sixth blow came down Stiles was a sobbing mess.

"S-six." Stiles gasped as he tried to choke down a sob.

"I know baby, I know. Just a few more to go and then it'll all be over, sweetheart."

Derek rubbed Stiles' abused bottom, giving him time to recover a little bit before delivering the seventh strike.

He allowed his hand to strike down again. It was noticeably harder than the ones before, causing a surprised yelp to slip from Stiles' lips.

"Sev'n." Stiles bit out as he chewed on his lower lip to stop any more sobs from escaping.

Derek doesn't know how much more of this he can take.

Punishing Stiles like this just seems so _wrong_ but at the same time he knew that he would only be pouring salt on the wound if he didn't do this for Stiles. Still doesn't mean he has to like it though.

The next two blows come right after each other, barely giving Stiles time to count them between his broken sobs.

Derek pulls his hand up but doesn't let it fall on Stiles' ass just yet, letting Stiles catch his breathe again before he finally delivers the final strike resonating through the room with a loud slap.

"T-ten."

The second the word falls out of Stiles' lips Derek swoops him up into his embrace while simultaneously tugging Stiles' pants back up.

"You were amazing Stiles, so good for me, sweetheart. You did so well. I'm so proud of you, baby."

Stiles simply cried freely into Derek's neck as he clung onto the Dom's shirt like a life line.

Derek kept whispering soothing words into his ear as loud sobs wretched through Stiles' body. He rubbed the Sub's back with one hand while running his fingers through Stiles' hair.

Eventually the sobs quieted until only little hiccups and Derek's whispered comforting words could be heard in the room.

Derek rearranged them so he was sitting back against the headboard with Stiles half on his lap with his face hidden in Derek's shoulder.

Stiles hasn't said a word since the punishment finished but Derek isn't surprised; he's actually more surprised that Stiles actually thinks he's a bad Sub. In a span of 6 months Theo Raeken got ahold of Stiles and completely transformed him into someone who believes himself to be worthless.

It's disgusting what Doms like him do to innocent Subs like Stiles.

Derek can't help but bring his mind back to the domestic abuse file he reopened and had the misfortune to be partnered up with Raeken.

It's possible that Raeken knew exactly who was abusing that Sub and wasn't saying anything to help out a fellow psychopathic asshole. If that couple who filed the report hadn't wondered off the trail and gotten lost in the preserve then the department might never have known about it. It was in a cabin at the edge of the preserve completely secluded from the rest of Beacon Hills.

It was a long shot but somehow Derek got the idea in his head that maybe Stiles knows what's going on and hasn't been able to say anything without revealing his and Theo's situation.

It's probably just hopeful thinking but it can't hurt to try.

"Stiles?" Derek whispered tentatively, not knowing if Stiles was still awake.

"Hmm?"

"Sweetheart, do you know anything about a cabin at the edge of the preserve?"

"...D-does it have a d-deer head on the door?" Stiles asked sounding half asleep.

"...Y-yes." Derek replied slowly.

Derek didn't actually think his spark of curiosity would lead to finding out that Stiles actually  _did_ know something about the case. However, he has to be careful, Stiles is still in a drop and if Derek makes any wrong moves it might lead to Stiles seeking even deeper.

"Oh... that's Theo's house." The words were whispered but there was a dark undertone to them.

Derek felt rage boiling up inside him at this new discovery. Raeken lived in that cabin, he had abused Stiles inside of that cabin and then he was the one that was partnered up with Derek to solve the case.

No wonder the case ran cold so fast. The bastard knew exactly what the department had on him and what they were looking for.

Derek couldn't take it anymore. Raeken can't just walk around freely! Not only is he a danger to Stiles but he's a danger to the community; as well as guilty of domestic abuse and obstruction of justice.

If the Sheriff doesn't open his eyes and smell the god damn coffee already then Derek is just going to have to take matters into his own hands.

The Dom looks down at Stiles to find the Sub already sound asleep. He waits a few minutes, just taking the time to thread his fingers through Stiles' hair before pulling out his phone and calling the Sheriff.

"Derek? I thought you weren't on duty today?" John does nothing to disguise the surprise in his voice but doesn't sound upset that Derek is calling.

"I'm not, I have to speak to you about something."

"Look, if this is about Theo then please, save it. There is no proof that Theo did all those horrible things Lydia said."

"I know for a fact that the elementary school has a camera at every corner." Derek informed confidently.

"How is that relevant?" John asked starting to sound aggravated.

"It's relevant because that gives you security footage of Theo berrating Stiles and about to hit him before I showed up and stopped him." Derek explained calmly.

"Derek. Theo-"

"If you even so much as think about saying 'Theo wouldn't do that' I'll go to the station and show you the footage myself." Derek barked out harshly. "If you don't snap out it John, I swear, I'll personally dislodge your head out of your ass. Theo has been abusing your son. Don't bother fucking denying it -Stiles has been crying on my shoulder for at least a half hour before he finally exhausted himself and fell asleep. Watch the security footage and call me when you get your head out of your ass."

Derek ended the phone call right after he finished speaking not even waiting for the sheriff to respond.

He focused his attention on Stiles sleeping soundly in his arms. He knows how attracted he is to Stiles but he never actually got the chance to see Stiles from this close before.

His eyelashes are ridiculously long as they frame his face, making his pale skin look almost luminous. His lips are a lot fuller than Derek originally thought and there are many tiny moles that you can't quite see from a distance dotting his face. Not only that but Derek never really noticed how young Stiles looks.

He knows they're only 3 years apart but Stiles surely wasn't lying when he said he had a baby face. His cheeks are a little chubby and although he does have a nicely defined jaw line he still looks like he's in his late teens rather than early twenties. Stiles looks so peaceful in his sleep and Derek just can't resist the urge to move his fingers through his unfairly soft hair, simply relishing the fact that he gets to experience this at least once.

He keeps stroking Stiles' soft hair until eventually sleep consumes him as well.

 

* * *

 

 Stiles woke up in a the warmest blanket ever known to man. He didn't want to ever leave the comfort of this ridiculously warm blanket. That is until he opened his eyes and found out that said blanket was actually Derek Hale.

Stiles mentally groaned when he finally remembers what happened earlier that day. He can't remember all the details since his memory got fuzzy after Theo slammed him against the wall but he knows more or less what lead up to him sleeping on Derek Hale's unbelievably cozy chest.

All he really remembered was that Theo was saying berating things to him -as per usual- and then Derek came out of nowhere and attacked Theo while he was starting to drop. Then they somehow arrived to the Hale house and Derek was petting his fur but then he switched back for some reason and started dropping even more?

Apparently whatever came out of Stiles' mouth made Derek punish him which was immediately followed by cuddles and more hair petting.

God, Stiles was going to die of humiliation! Why did he have to go and fuck everything up just when he and Derek made up and were actually starting to become friends?

Now Derek will probably only see Stiles as a pathetic Sub that he had to spank because he begged for it.

Then Stiles thinks about how Derek called him _baby_ and _sweetheart_ and, fuck, Stiles can feel himself blush just by thinking about it.

Stiles usually doesn't like using overly sweet nicknames with his partners, it has always felt forced or faked whenever someone called him anything other than his usual nickname. Even with Malia they never called each other anything besides their names unless they were doing a scene.

However, when Derek called him that, the words felt meaningful and important, as if Derek truly thought that Stiles was something precious that needed to be treasured.

But Stiles knows that's not what he meant.

Derek probably just called him that so Stiles would stop dropping so fast. Everyone knows that Subs respond best with praise when going through a sub drop. Saying things like sweetheart and baby is probably what Derek normally uses as praise for his own Sub.

Shit, just _thinking_ about Derek with another Sub causes uncontrollable rage to rush trough Stiles' body.

It's not like there is really anyone to be jealous about anyway. Everyone in Beacon Hills knows that the Alpha doesn't have his own Sub. Yet, Stiles can't help but feel jealous.

Derek might not have a Sub right now but he will eventually. Derek will find someone that he'll love and cherish and Stiles wants so badly for that person to be him.

He wants to sleep in Derek's arms every night and go on dates and kiss Derek whenever he wants and make his coffee every morning but most importantly he wants Derek to be his Beloved.

He wants Derek to be the one person that was made just for him. The only person that his fox will ever truly accept as his lover.

Like that will ever happen.

Stiles should really stop putting unrealistic fantasies in his own head. It'll only end in disappointment if he keeps convincing himself that there's even the slightest chance that Derek feels the same way towards him.

Derek deserves so much more than him. It's selfish to think Derek would put up with him just because Stiles has developed a stupidly enormous crush on him.

Stiles really needs to get away from Derek before he ends up making it worse for both of them.

With new found determination to not make things any harder for Derek, Stiles shifts back into his fox form to quickly escape out of Derek's hold.

Stiles looks at the digital clock on the night stand only to find out that it's 8:23 p.m. and that the lacrosse game should have ended nearly 2 hours ago. Stiles sprints out of the house in search of Scott.

He knows that he's either at his dad's or at Lydia's house, so, he heads over to his dad's place considering it's the closest one to the Hale house.

Scott has enough abandonment issues as it is, the last thing Stiles needs right now is have Scott think that Stiles has just left him out of the blue. He's dealt with enough nightmares to know that him leaving is an all too real fear Scott has.

It's why they mind link every hour whenever they aren't together; and now Stiles hasn't mind linked Scott in several hours without any sort of explanation whatsoever.

When Stiles finally reaches his dad's house he smoothly transitioned back into his human form before stepping on the front porch.

Just as he's about to knock on the door, it bursts open with Scott magically appearing in his arms.

"Daddy! Daddy!! I missed you!" Scott exclaimed happily as he nuzzled Stiles' neck.

"Missed you too pup." Stiles replied while tenderly rubbing his nose all over the 6 year old's cheek.

Scott pulled away with a satisfied smile but didn't leave Stiles' arms as they walked through the door.

"Daddy guess what?!"

"What?" Stiles asked with exaggerated curiosity.

"Grampa said that I can have some Oreos if I didn't tell you he had junk food stashed all over the house!"

"Really now?"

"Yep! But you can't tell anyone it's super top secret information! So, shhhh!"

"Well then why don't you go eat those Oreos while I go talk to Grampa about this super top secret information?" Stiles suggested as he gently placed Scott on the floor.

"Okay." Scott said already half way to the kitchen.

Stiles knew he was being too easy on him. His dad had a sweet tooth that could rival his own and know that Stiles wasn't around 24/7 his dad took the opportunity to stash junk food in the house.

He should have searched the house thoroughly the last time he came to visit, not just the kitchen. Would that really made that much of a difference though? His dad knew that he and Scott always visit Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays. That would give him more than enough time to make sure there was no junk food in the house during those days.

Little did he know Stiles would pop up on a Friday though.

"Dad, what is the meaning of this? I've told you time and time again that you need to take better care of yourself! I can't constantly be checking up on you and make sure you stay on your diet and-" Stiles' rant was cut short by his dad enveloping him into a bone crushing hug.

"I-I'm so sorry." his dad whispered and only when Stiles heard the thickness of his voice did he notice the faint smell of salt in the air.

"Dad?... dad are you _crying_?" Stiles gawks.

To say Stiles was surprised would be the understatement of the century. He stood there, speechless as his dad hugged him like he was about to disappear.

It's not like this is the first time Stiles has seen his dad cry or anything but seeing his dad with tears in his eyes certainly didn't happen often. Stiles could probably count the amount of times he's remembers seeing his dad cry without reaching double digits.

"I saw the security footage from the school."

In that moment Stiles wanted nothing more but for the dread that settled in his stomach to go away and never return.

Stiles felt guilty over what happened in the school enough as it is. The fact that it made his dad cry just made him feel like the worst person ever. Stiles felt like he was about to throw up.

"Oh." Is all that came out of his mouth.

"Stiles what the hell were you thinking? Why didn't you tell me what was going on? I saw the way he cornered you so effortlessly, he could have easily... I could have lost you kiddo."

His dad sounded so distraught and horrified Stiles didn't know what was worse. The fact that he put his dad through all that or the fact that things could have ended so differently if Derek hadn't stepped in when he had.

He knows how things could have gone if Derek hadn't stopped Theo but it's not like it would be the first time it happened. Stiles has learned to deal with Theo's punishments, let it be physical or psychological, it's nothing he hasn't dealt with before. 

"I-I didn't think you'd believe me," Stiles confessed in a hushed tone, "Theo was one of your best deputes and I know how great you think he is. It would have been my word against his, plus, it's not like there was any evidence to prove my point."

 His dad was basically drowning in the acid stench of his own guilt. He pulled away from Stiles but didn't let his arms leave Stiles' shoulders.

His face was the picture of regret.

"You have no idea how much I want to tell you how stupid that excuse is... but that would just make me a hypocrite."

"What? No. Hypocrite? Nah. Possibly slightly sanctimonious or narrow-minded, sure, but definitely not a hypocrite." Stiles bit out sarcastically before he could stop himself.

He knew that this was probably the time to comfort his dad and say everything is okay and that it wasn't his fault but he can't.

He doesn't blame his dad, far from it, but he's a naturally sarcastic person and it's not like he can actually control what comes out of his mouth. Stiles doesn't  _want_ to say everything that pops into his head without any restraints from common decency, it's just the way it's always worked out.

Everyone told him it would just go away on it's own. That he will learn to control it eventually. Ha, as if.

Nope, he was simply born with a lazy brain-to-mouth filter that liked going on frequent vacations whenever it was needed.

Luckily for him his dad was already accustomed to his lack of social etiquette and simply laughed it off looking at him with watery blue eyes.

"You know I love you, kid. More than anything right kiddo? I've been a completely shitty father to you even before this the whole Theo situation. But, I'll kill that bastard the next time I see him step within 100 feet of you."

His dad's face went from worried father to badass overprotective police officer father in 0.2 seconds and the sudden change made Stiles want to laugh. He really did love his dad, and Stiles would die if anything happened to him.

Sheriff John kissed Stiles on his head and held him closely.

"That's really not necessary dad." Stiles tried to reassure but his dad wasn't buying it.

"He hurt you for 6 months and I did nothing to stop it even after Lydia told me everything she knew. Even Parrish yelled at me for the way I handled the situation, which was basically let Theo do whatever the fuck he wanted, I'm supposed to protect you and I let that bastard hurt you. Not only that but you didn't think I'd believe you! You're my son and you didn't tell me a Dom was abusing you because you didn't think I'd do anything about it and you know what? You were right. I didn't believe you, I was practically Theo's little puppet and he used me to hurt you even more. I don't know how you could call me a father after all the suffering I caused you."

His dad was getting quieter with every declaration, as if he was talking to himself rather than another person.

"Okay, one, You need to apologize to Parrish, I suggest the little hole in the wall Italian restaurant in the mall- he'll love it." Stiles smiled at his dad knowingly.

"And two," Stiles paused, gently holding his dad. "you couldn't have known dad... besides, Theo had everyone fooled. He can be a very convincing actor when he wants to be."

"Stiles, Theo didn't have anyone else fooled but me! Lydia, Parrish, even Alpha Hale wasn't convinced!" He yelled and he seemed so frustrated and distraught with himself, like he couldn't believe he was the only one that Theo managed to trick.

"Well, Lydia has been on my ass about what's been going on for 5 months so everyone was a suspect where she was concerned, Parrish loves my food too much to take any chances and would probably pounce on anyone that had the slightest possibility of hurting me, and Derek never really seemed to like Theo anyway. So, you really shouldn't feel guilty about it dad. Anyone in your shoes would have done the same thing." Stiles explained confidently.

He might have felt a bit hurt by his dad's actions but he understood his reasoning. He was the Sheriff of Beacon Hills and he had to make sure that there was sufficient evidence before convicting someone of domestic abuse.

If his reaction would had been anywhere similar to Lydia's, Stiles was sure he would be revoked from his position as Sheriff.

His dad was looking at him with a fond expression on his face and his eyes were misty but he didn't reek of guilt anymore. He smelled proud for some reason. Stiles couldn't figure out why before his dad pulled him in for another bone crushing hug.

"I don't know what I did to deserve a son like you." His dad's voice was thick with emotion and Stiles couldn't do anything more than return the strangling hug.

"Gosh old man, why do you have to get so emotional about Oreos?" Stiles teased, remembering what made him go find his dad in the first place.

His dad broke away from the hug with a fond laugh as he tried to rub the wetness from his eyes.

Stiles smiled brightly at him before turning around and heading to the kitchen where Scott was undoubtedly too busy stuffing his face with Oreos to have over heard Stiles and the sheriff's conversation.

When Stiles reached the kitchen he was greeted by the sight of Scott sitting on the counter with a jar of Oreos in his lap and while trying to shove 3 Oreos in his mouth simultaneously.

The pup stopped to look at him with a face covered in Oreo crumbs and his large stuffed cheeks resembling those of chipmunks.

"W'nt sm?"  Scott mumbled with a mouth full of cookies as he stretched out his arm with 2 Oreos toward Stiles.

Stiles chuckled at the sight and snapped a photo with his phone.

He's going to have so many embarrassing photos of Scott to black mail him with when he hits his rebellious teenage years.

 

* * *

 

 Stiles wasn't petty- he really wasn't! So what if he tried to avoid Derek as much as possible the following week after escaping his house? It's not like they were interested in each other.

Besides, Stiles was a _very_ busy individual... Okay maybe not so much  _busy_ as he was trying to occupy all his time to not include any interaction with Sheriff Hale. 

Try as he might -he really did try his best okay! It's not his fault Derek decided to pop up everywhere he went.

It was seriously getting frustrating. How do you go from only seeing someone once a day for 5 minutes while they're picking up their kid from your classroom to running into them every time you turn the corner!? It's ridiculous.

Stiles was trying to get some grocery shopping done on Sunday when he goes into the breakfast lane to get some Frosted Flakes for Scott when he bumps right into Derek.

Well, he didn't really bump into him _per-_ _se,_ more like recognized his back from a distance.

It was a very distinctive back, anyone could see that a sexy ~~ass~~ back like that could only belong to the one and only Derek ~~orgasm inducing~~ Hale.

So, clearly, Stiles did what any logical person would do when faced with a sexy Dom they've been majorly crushing but have absolutely no chances with and are currently going through a very awkward time being around each other since said sexy Dom spanked them... 

.

.

.                               

He practically swan dived into another aisle before Derek could see him.

Stiles would just get Scott's Frosted Flakes later when the source of his sexual frustration wasn't trying to decide whether he wanted to buy Fruit Loops or Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Of course, Stiles should have guessed that he'd run into Derek at least twice a day after that. Honestly, it's like Derek was everywhere all of a sudden.

Stiles would see him in the mall, in the library, in the bank, even in the park he would always take Scott. It was exhausting running away from Derek without making his presence known to the wolf.

Still, he managed to get through an entire week avoiding the alpha.

That was probably due to his scent blockers though. Not like Stiles cared anyway. As long as he didn't have to endure the awkwardness of talking to Derek after what happened last Friday then everything will be fine.

Yep, just avoiding all confrontation with Derek ~~~~~~sexy~~ Hale and any associates pertainting to him.

Should be a piece of cake... Right?

 

* * *

 

It was Saturday afternoon and he had brought Scott to the park to let him burn off some steam before heading home.

It was nice and peaceful as Stiles watched his pup run all over the place looking like he was having a blast. Luckily, there was no Derek in sight so Stiles didn't have to resort to his amazing skills of disguise to keep an eye on Scott as he played.

However, just when he put himself into a false sense of security something had to ruin his perfect plan to avoid Derek for the rest of his life.

"Hey, Bambi." The blonde beta Stiles remembers picking Isaac up from school a couple of times greeted him cheerfully, elegantly sitting down next to him.

"Um, h-hi. Erica right?"

"Aww you remembered my name!" She exclaimed while flashing a dazzling white smile in his direction.

"Well, it's hard to forget the only person who calls you Bambi, even if I've only seen you a handful of times."

Erica gave him a devious grin, "So, tell me little fawn, what are you doing here?"

Stiles blinked, completely dumbfounded for a second, before responding slowly, "Uh, this is where I usually take Scott to let him burn off some energy and run around. And a-aren't I older than you?"

"You may be older than me Bambi, but I'm more experienced in the area of love."

"What?"

Stiles was so thankful he hadn't been drinking anything. Nothing is as charming as catching Stiles Stilinski off guard while drinking something and watching the drink bubbling, spurting, and or dribbling down his face.

And where the hell did _that_ come from?

This conversation just made a complete U turn in topic and for once it wasn't his fault.

"When are you and Derek going to get your heads out of your asses and admit you love each other already? I need some Sterek like, _now_."

"Sterek?"

"Yeah, it's your ship name." She smiled, proudly puffing up her chest victoriously. "Isn't it adorable? I came up with it."

"Sorry to tell you this, but, me and Derek -yeah- aren't going to be a thing. Ever." Stiles stated as he looked pointedly at the ground, trying to avoid Erica's gaze.

"Why the fuck not?!" Erica growled out.

"Because Derek will never think of me that way!"

"So ... what you're saying is ... you like Derek." She stated with a smirk crawling across her face.

"I-" Stiles cut himself off. It's not like he can deny it anyway, not with the way he can feel the heat rush to his cheeks.

"It doesn't matter, Derek doesn't have to return my feelings simply because I have crush on him. Besides, it's not like he's my Beloved or anything." Stiles muttered.

"What is a 'Beloved'? I've never heard of something like that." Erica asked with a curious expression on her face.

"I, uh, don't know actually... My mom never got to explain it to me and my dad's human so he doesn't really understand it either. All I know is that a Beloved is the only person my fox will ever truly accept as my lover."

Erica appeared to reflect on the words that Stiles said and the gaze she had on him seemed almost as if she was searching for something.

"Have you already found your Beloved?" She inquired cautiously.

Something in Stiles' expression must have given away how utterly confused he was by the question because Erica started explaining a moment later.

"It's just, you have Scott. I know he isn't adopted, so, I figured whoever is the other parent must be your Beloved right?" She rationalized while giving Stiles a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"No. Malia was... she wasn't my Beloved. I loved her don't get me wrong but my fox never accepted her as my Domme. It was always cautious around her and whenever I turned into my fox form I wouldn't let her get close enough to touch me. She was my first girlfriend and the only significant other I ever had. We never planned on having Scott, not when we were still in our senior year of high school, but, 3 weeks before graduation I got pregnant and we were both ecstatic about it. Neither of us wanted kids so soon in our lives, we were still kids ourselves, yet, when we found out we were going to be parents it was easily the best thing that has ever happened to us. I love Scott and so does my fox but Malia would never compare to my Beloved in my fox's eyes."

"What about you?" Erica asked after a minute of silence stretched out between them.

"What about me?"

"Do you agree with your fox?"

"My fox is a part of me of course I agree with it. It's difficult to understand the reasoning behind it, sure, but I know that my fox is only expressing my wildest instincts. If my instincts are telling me that there is someone out there for me way better than Malia, then that's that. I'm just not sure whether or not I deserve that person, whoever it may be."

"I see. How do you know when you find your Beloved?"

"I don't know. My mom said that everyone is different, that their fox tries to tell them anyway they know how. Sometimes it's dreams or an itch on your skin that doesn't go away unless you're with that person but it all just depends on the person -or, well, fox, I guess."

"Hmm well this has been an _enlightening_ experience my dear Bambi but I'm afraid I have some pressing matter to attend to. Good bye!" Erica said as she hurriedly got off the park bench and waved at him.

"Um, good bye?" Stiles replied as she rounded off to a dark skinned guy waiting on the other side of the park, Boyd, Stiles remembered from the few times he and Erica would pick up Isaac from school.

Stiles didn't even realize that he'd basically admitted he was crushing on Derek to one of the alpha's adopted children until the car was already out of sight.

He was so fucked.

 

* * *

 

 Erica couldn't wait until they finally reached the Hale house so she could finally tell Derek how much of a complete and utter idiot he is. Not only has the alpha been sulking this entire week since he woke up without Bambi in his arms on Friday, he's been avoiding Stiles the entire time!

He was basically begging the Sub to get the wrong idea and all because 'he doesn't want anything to do with me Erica' ha! Just wait until she tells him that his mate has been crushing on him this entire time.

She really does deserve some kind of award for putting up with these two pinning morons. Though, she supposes that would only be one more reason to justify the fact that they are perfect for each other.

Seriously, she doesn't know what Derek would do without her.

"You seem excited to get back home." Boyd commented without taking his eyes off the road as he drove.

"More like excited to tell Derek what a moron he is. Turns out Stiles is totally into him but he thinks Derek doesn't like him like that. I swear those two idiots are meant to be."

Boyd gives a small chuckle as he parks the car in the garage, "Figures."

Erica smiles at him when he opens the car door for her and kisses him on the cheek before running towards Derek's office where he's undoubtedly brooding and giving his computer the murder eyebrows.

She bursts through the door without knocking -not much use for it when you can smell where everyone in the house is- and smacks Derek upside the head before he can say anything.

"What the hell was that for?" Derek demands giving the beta an unimpressed look.

"For being an idiot obviously. Why the hell didn't you tell Stiles he was your mate?!?"

"Because I didn't want to pressure him into something he doesn't want! He just got out of an abusive relationship, I can't go up to him and say 'Hey, you're my mate and that means we're each other's one true love want to date me?' He'd feel like he can't say no and I don't want to take away his choice. Besides, I don't know if Stiles even knows what a mate is, let alone if he'll accept me as his!"

"He won't accept you as his mate, foxes don't have any mates."

When Erica saw Derek's face he looked like someone had just crushed his hopes and dreams and it made Erica want to hit him in the head again.

"What they _do_ have is something called a Beloved. I'm curious Derek, when Stiles is a fox how does he act around you?" Erica inquired slyly.

Derek seems to think about this for a moment, as if replaying all the times he's encountered Stiles in his fox form.

"He's cute. A little shy at first but he's very friendly. He likes being pet a lot, especially behind his left ear. He acts more like a cuddly puppy than a fox in all honesty."

"Well, did you know that his past Domme, Malia, couldn't get close enough to Stiles in his fox form to actually pet him? And that Stiles' Beloved is the only person his fox will ever accept as his lover?"

"No I did not know either of those things. You're point?" Derek asked with a glare.

"You can't be seriously be this stupid." Erica deadpanned, "My point is that you are Stiles' Beloved and he is your Mate so you better get off your oblivious ass and go fucking tell him before I rip your balls off!!"

Derek didn't seem to get the message that she meant for him to go after him right _now_ , so, she let her eyes glow golden and snarled at him, making sure her fangs were perfectly displayed.

Derek clearly wasn't intimidated by her but his face scrunched up into a scowl and he seemed to be contemplated something.

"What is it?" Erica asked, going from angry beta to curious teenager in half a second.

"I'm not sure, my wolf is going crazy. It's growling and pacing in my head but I have no idea why. The only time something like this happened was when..." Derek trailed off as he quickly shot to his feet and started walking out of the house in fast strides.

"When what?" Erica questioned, easily keeping up with Derek as he walked out the front door.

"When Theo was abusing Stiles last week." Derek explained in a grim tone before shifting into his wolf form and sprinting into the woods.

Crap.

 

* * *

 

 Stiles was at Lydia's house to drop Scott of for a few hours. His fox was getting edgy and he found it harder to concentrate recently, so, he decided he'd go for a run to get some of the tension off.

Lydia was there to greet him when he parked his Jeep in the driveway. She had Allison at her side and Scott was already extremely excited when he saw her.

Stiles was sure the little pup would have jump out of the car the second it stopped moving if he wasn't strapped into his booster seat.

When Stiles finally unbuckled him the boy jumped out immediately but stayed by Stiles side despite how much he obviously wanted nothing more than to run up to Allison and tell her how pretty she looks this evening.

Stiles lets Scott and Allison go inside to play with Danny while he hung back with Lydia in the front porch.

"You do know that Allison has a crush on a 5th grade girl named Cora Woods right?" Lydia whispered so Scott wouldn't be able to hear to the conversation.

"Yeah, she's the werewolf girl right? Ally told me about her but I can't tell Scott, the pup needs to find out on his own." He whispered back.

"Poor boy will be heartbroken when he finds out."

"I know, but he'll live."

"Speaking of the living, are you okay?" Lydia asked letting her voice go back to it's normal volume.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My fox is getting anxious though so I thought I'd go for a run to burn some of the excess energy." Stiles answered calmly.

"Well, I hope you have a nice run. Just be careful Stiles."

"Please when am I _not_ careful?" Stiles teased, earning a deadly glare from Lydia.

"I mean it Stiles. Don't do anything stupid."

"I won't, promise." Stiles said as he switched into his fox form and started running towards the woods.

Stiles let the stress from the week leave his mind as his fox took over completely.

He raced through the preserve seeing a haze of tall trees loom over him as he zoomed passed them. He felt free and weightless as he felt the dirt under his paws and heard the soft sounds of the forest around him.

Until he heard the quick paws and ragged breathes coming steadily closer to him.

Stiles turned his head to try and get a look at the source of the noise only he wasn't expecting the sight before him.

A few yards away from him there was a huge grey wolf with crazed blue eyes that was snarling at him with foam seeping out of its mouth. A rogue.

Stiles surged forward in an effort to get as far way from the rogue as possible. However, just when he thinks he's out of danger something snaps around his front right paw.

He lets out an agonizing cry as the coil spring trap he stepped on bites down on his small paw. He tries to escape the torturous trap as the rogue gets dangerously close to him but even the slightest movement of his paw turns out to be excruciating painful.

The rogue is just a few strides away from him and Stiles closes his eyes, not wanting to see the rogue's large teeth as he snarls ready to attack him at any second.

He faintly hears another growl come from the opposite direction and he tries to suppress a whimper. Of course he'd get stuck in the middle of two wolves fighting for their afternoon snack.

Nothing better than fox stew for their hungry wolf stomachs to devour on a Saturday.

Why does he always find a way to get himself in situations like this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay before any of you say anything about these lovable idiots, these pinning morons will become a thing VERY soon alright? So just hold on for a tiny bit longer okay, it will happen, I promise!! Also sorry for the cliff hanger again!
> 
> I have a very important question for you guys though and you MUST answer. The fate of my sanity hangs in the balance!!!! So, if Stiles, Derek and the rest of the teen wolf cast were to attend Hogwarts what house would they be in?


	7. It's Only You

 Before Derek could think about all the possible consequences of acting on a probable faulty hunch, he was sprinting through the woods like a bat out of hell searching for Stiles while blind panic consumed him.

He could smell Stiles. His mouthwatering scent was covered underneath the acrid almost putrid stench of fear polluting the usual wet dirt and rainwater scents inhabiting the forest sorrounding Beacon hills.

His thoughts have centered fully into a mantra of _protectmateprotectmateprotectmate_ as the Alpha got closer to the source of the scent.

As he hurled his bulking wolf mass past the preserve in an effort to get to Stiles, he heard a piercing cry of pure agony that rung in his oversensitive ears.

Derek's blood ran cold, though he forced himself to calm down and push through the startling fear resonating throughout his mind and heart and kept running despite the growing ache gnawing at his heart.

Not long after, Derek saw a lanky medium sized (compared to other werewolves) grey wolf foaming at the mouth with glassy blue eyes running straight towards his mate. His mate that currently has a fucking _bear trap_ snapped around his little paw.

Derek couldn't suppress the ferocious growl that crawled and escaped his throat at the sight, effectively catching the attention of the rogue werewolf.  

Electric blue orbs clashed with his vibrant and bright red as the two wolves lock eyes and sprint towards each other.

It doesn't take long before the fight turned bloody, vicious snarls echo throughout the preserve. Everything was a blur of dagger like claws and gleaming fangs to Derek as the rogue fought back but he wasn't going to let the pain surging through him distract him from making the rogue nothing more than a blood stain on the forest floor. 

Eventually Derek manages to get a hold of the rogue's throat and he chomped down on it with his razor sharp canines until the other wolf's heartbeat completely flat-lined.

Once Derek made sure the immediate threat was dead, he quickly turned his attention to his tiny whimpering mate.

The fox had a small pool of blood around its trapped paw, his large golden eyes filled with such pain and despair it shook Derek to the very core.

The Alpha determinedly made his way towards the injured fox and placed his large paws on the top of both sides of the bear trap. Stiles let out a small whine at the slight movement of the trap as Derek put all of his Alpha strength into opening the trap enough for the fox's tiny paw to get out.

The second Stiles' paw was safely out of the trap Derek let it snap closed once again.

Stiles had his bloody paw pressed tightly against his chest as he limped over to Derek, nuzzling into the wolf's chest. The Alpha gently nuzzled the small fox's head before cautiously lifting up the tiny creature by the nape of it's neck and making his way towards the den.

 Stiles surprisingly didn't put up much of a fight and stayed relatively still the entire duration of the trip. While Stiles seemed perfectly okay with not doing anything, Derek's mind went racing through so many different scenarios he could hardly walk straight.

The Alpha couldn't help but think of what would have happened if he hadn't followed his instincts. Stiles was already injured -that put his wolf in enough stress as it is- but he could have easily lost his life just now.

 Not only was he being chased down by a rogue but he got caught in a bear trap! Why the fuck is there a bear trap in the preserve? Hunting is _illegal_ in his territory -especially so close to the town. If Derek ever found out who the ever loving hell set that bear trap he's going to feed them to Peter.

Before long, Derek could make out the rocky cave surrounded by forest vines near the small lake near his house.

When they made it into the den Derek quietly placed Stiles on the leaf covered floor as he lies down alongside him. The werewolf curled around the injured fox and started instictively licking his mate's wound leisurely. Luckily Stiles' naturally fast healing combined with his alpha mate's saliva the wound heals rather nicely after roughly 10 minutes.

Derek stayed curled up around his mate for a few precious moments just nuzzling the little fox affectionately, relishing the closeness and tenderness of his mate until his brain suddenly made a decision.

No one is going to take Stiles away from him. The fox is _his_ mate and Derek wasn't going to let anyone else touch him. And if Stiles doesn't want anything to do with him.... well.... there is only one way to find out.

Derek carefully uncurls himself from the little fox and swiftly shifts back into his human form. He folds his arms around his navy blue Henley as he muttered a "Switch back Stiles." with maybe a little bit more growl than he intended.

The fox visibly tensed and gave Derek the most betrayed look he has ever seen on such a tiny creature.

Shit, why does his emotional constipation always come to bite him in the ass when he actually needs to use his words?

Just when Derek is about to stammer out an apology Stiles starts whimpering and whining softly. Derek stares at Stiles wide eyed before swiftly picking up the little fox in his arms and petting him behind his left ear the way he just subconciously knews Stiles adores.

"Hey, it's okay sweetheart. It's okay baby I've got you." Derek cooed as he coddled his little mate.

Only when Derek sparred a second between hushed reassurances did he notice the level of smugness on the fox's face that should never be manageable to achieve.

"You're a cheeky little shit, you know that?" Derek said with nothing but begrudging fondness laced into his words.

Stiles simply licks his cheek looking not at all bothered by the alpha's statement.

Derek gave the fox a typical furrowed eyebrow, eye roll but couldn't suppress the tiny smile that somehow made it to his lips.

"Stop trying to distract me. Switch back, I mean it Stiles. We need to talk." He ordered as he set Stiles back on the floor.

The fox made a sound of protest but he switched back anyway. A few seconds later there was Stiles, wearing an oversized grey sweater with wine colored pants, standing in front of him. He was so screwed.

 _no_ _one_ should look that good in wine colored pants and are those thumb holes?

Stiles is wearing a sweater with fucking thumb holes. Fuck his life, seriously.

Before Derek could manage to muster up a coherent sentence -because _thumb_ _holes-_ Stiles got all fidgety and when he opened his mouth words started pouring out like he was enable to hold them back any longer.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know you have more important things to do than save my ass and I know I've been enough of a hindrance to you -especially last Friday but it's not like I can help it! Getting into trouble is as much a part of my DNA as being a Sub is. Even my dad agrees with my theory that with my natural clumsiness, curiosity, and my god given talent to mess everything up I'm practically a magnet to all things dangerous. So, again, I apologize for being a pain in your magnificent ass -shit no that's not what I meant to say! I meant _ass_ I'm sorry for being a pain in your _ass_ nothing magnificent about it. Nope. I do not have dirty thoughts about you- oh my god, why can't I shut up?! Don't pay attention to me!"

Derek snorts and lets himself chuckle at the frustrated Sub with the palm of his hand covering his mouth. He's quickly realizing that there is never a dull moment with Stiles around.

"This is not funny Derek!! Just because you're a walking wet dream doesn't mean you have the right to laugh at the people who fantasize about you - _ohmygod_ why can't I just die?!?!"

The alpha just laughs harder, but then Stiles covers his face with his hands and his muscles grow tense as he tries to make himself appear smaller, Derek wasn't having any of it.

The werewolf slid over to the Sub, gently pushing Stiles' hands out of his beautiful face to look into his amber eyes.

"Stiles, listen to me. You have no idea how many times I've fantasized about your perky little ass or your unbelievably long fingers or your beautiful pink lips. And I'm flattered that you think I'm a walking wet dream but I don't think you realize how unfairly irresistible you are -not to mention how adorable I find your constant word vomit."

"R-really?" Stiles asked shyly as he avoided Derek's gaze.

The Dom simply placed one hand on the werefox's cheek and moved Stiles' head slightly until the Sub was looking him in the eye once more.

"Really." The Alpha stated with as much certainty and conviction as he could muster.

 Derek smiles as he sees the subtle change in those honey brown eyes when Stiles finally understood how sincere Derek's words are. Stiles' eyes brighten slightly and his lips curve into a shy smile as he looks up at the Dom through long dark lashes.

The alpha's heart beat kicks up a notch as he takes in the sight. His mate was gorgeous, so perfect for him, even if he wasn't aware of how attractive he is.

"You're so beautiful." The words are out of his mouth before he could stop them, not that he wanted to anyway, his mate _is_ beautiful and Derek wants to do everything in his power to make Stiles believe it.

Stiles blushed as tried to avoid Derek's eyes again.

"Y-you're just saying that." Stiles stuttered in a hushed tone as if the words were only meant to be heard by him.

Derek furrowed his brow at the Sub's words. He knew Stiles said something similar last week Friday when he was in a drop but Derek had just written it off as the sub drop effecting the way Stiles viewed himself. He never considered the Sub thought so little of himself normally. The thought of Stiles having so many self-esteem issues bewildered him; can't he see how stunning he is?

The Dom started to softly sweep his thumb across Stiles' cheek until the Sub finally looked up at him again with those incredible doe eyes.

"No, I'm not Stiles." he informed as he stared into the werefox's eyes, "I don't know why it's so hard for you to believe this but - dammit Stiles- you are gorgeous. You have incredibly long eyelashes, breathtaking amber eyes, cute little moles, an adorable upturned nose, unfairly nimbly fingers, amazing legs, an unbelievably attractive ass, and extremely soft looking hair that makes me want to run my fingers through it forever. And I know you're not going to believe all of these things over night but I don't want to hear you say you're not beautiful ever again. Am I clear?"

The Sub lowered his gaze shyly but gave a nod in understanding before looked back at Derek through thick lashes. Derek smiled down at Stiles sweetly before enveloping the Sub into a hug and nuzzling his neck.

He couldn't smell Stiles' scent anymore due to the damned scent blockers but he still felt a sense of calm with his mate in his arms like this. Stiles had his head buried into the alpha's neck, taking deep breaths as he visibly relaxed into Derek's hold. The alpha felt another smile tug at his lips at knowing his mate found so much comfort in his scent.

Derek kept nuzzling his mate affectionately, scent marking him, wanting everyone to know that Stiles was his and he wasn't going to let anyone take him away.

"My mate." Derek purred.

"What's a mate?" Stiles' curious voice asked with a layer of contentment that made Derek's wolf preen.

Shit he said that out loud.

Derek really fucked up now. He didn't want to tell Stiles they were mates because he didn't want to mate the Sub feel pressured into being with him. Derek wanted to wait until they had established that their feelings for each other were mutual and sincere before he told Stiles about mates. But now he'd let it slip and Stiles was asking about it; if he doesn't answer or he avoids the question Stiles will think his hiding something and the last thing Derek wants is for his mate to think he was lying to him.

Derek pulls back from the warm embrace, somehow not being able to make eye contact with the Sub as he stared at the fascinating twig near his feet.

"A mate is... well... a mate is something very special to werewolves. Well, more like someone. Anyway a mate is someone made just for them. Someone who's characteristics and personality compliment perfectly with the wolf's. A werewolf doesn't know who their mate is until they meet them for the first time, usually the wolf will have a dream about their mate the day they make a connection with them. It's not like you see someone walking on the street and you suddenly have a dream about them deeming them your mate; it's a only after you've at least engaged in a conversation with them and are already in the process of being interested in a relationship with said person that you're wolf reveals that they're your mate. Some wolves go through their entire lives without finding their mate but once you find them you're pretty much incapable of being interested in anyone else. So, when I found out you were my mate I was, honestly, I was terrified. I've never been the best at relationships and suddenly you come along with your cute face and lean muscled body and adorable messy hair and I couldn't make myself stop thinking about you and that scared the hell out of me. But then you go and get yourself into a situation like _this_ and I just couldn't take it anymore; there was no way I could let you get taken away from me again."

Stiles looked at him with unblinking analytical eyes that seemed to be searching for something before his eyes suddenly lowered to stare at the floor.

"Did you- were you disappointed when you found out it was me? Are you.. did you say all those things about me because I'm your mate? Because it's basically me or nothing?" The Sub inquired slowly as he seemed to be forcing all emotion not to seep into his voice.

Stiles sounded unaffected with an aura of calm around him, however, his large eyes were dull as if shutting himself out to make sure he wouldn't get hurt by Derek's answer.

Derek's wolf whined at the thought of his mate thinking he needed to use a defense mechanism like that so he wouldn't seem effected by his words. It's clear that Stiles has experienced a lot of emotional pain in his life in order to shut off all of his emotions like that. Derek doesn't ever want to see that expression on Stiles' directed at him ever again.

"No, Stiles of course not! I liked you ever since I saw you leaning against the door frame of Isaac's classroom on the first day of school. I didn't start getting the dreams until we spent all of Parrish's birthday party talking about anything and everything. I always thought that you were undeniably attractive but at the party I realized how much of an amazing person you are. The way you made me laugh so easily and how you talk with your hands and how it felt like I could hear your voice speak for weeks on end without getting tired of it and how it was so simple to just speak to you like I was a normal person."

Stiles studied him for a moment as if searching for the sincerity behind his words before a smirk tugged at his lips.

"Well don't stop on my account. Keep going sourwolf." Stiles teased as the smirk slowly turned into a small smile.

Derek smirked at his mate before saying, "I'll keep going tomorrow night when I take you out to dinner. I'll pick you up at 7."

The Sub couldn't stop the light dust of pink that made it to his cheeks, nodding slowly while he fidgeted with the sleeve of his sweater and captured his bottom lip between his teeth.

His mate was so adorable, Derek wanted to just hold him and never let him go.

He wondered if Stiles felt as strongly for him as the alpha did for him. He remembers Erica mentioning something about werefoxes not having mates, instead they had something called Beloveds. The werewolf couldn't help but feel curious as to what exactly that meant. He wasn't paying much attention to Erica's rambling since his wolf was basically having an anxiety attack in his head.

"So, if werefoxes don't have mates then... what exactly do they have?" Derek asked, his wolf yipping happily when Stiles' cheeks got a little darker and his smile turned shy.

The Sub shifted on his feet before mumbling his answering, "Oh uh we have Beloveds. I mean it's pretty similar to what you described as a mate but there are some differences. Beloveds are chosen by your fox, not some predestined thing mates are, and even if a werefox never meets their Beloved their fox isn't going to except anyone as their partner. You can have relationships with people that aren't your Beloved and be happy with them but your fox will never accept them completely, maybe tolerate, but nothing more."

The alpha had another question pop into his head as Stiles explained, not one he necessarily wanted to know the answer to, but a question that needed to be answered nonetheless.

Derek lowered his gaze yet again as the incredible twig caught his undivided attention once more before he whispered, "Have you already found you Beloved?"

The Dom didn't know what he'd do if his mate never truly accepts him, the simply thought of that happening makes his wolf whine pitifully in his head. However, he can't stop thinking about Scott and the time in Kira's café that Stiles mentioned his Domme was gone. His mate looked so lost with an expression of deeply rooted pain embedded into his features. If Stiles' past Domme was his Beloved, Derek doesn't know how he'd be able to handle it.

Stiles' eyes widened for a split second before he suddenly started to fidget with his sleeve yet again.

"I-I think so. I mean I don't really know all that much other than what my mom told me b-but she umm always said it all depends on your fox and that you're fox will make it obvious when you find them. So, uh, w-well when we were umm hugging my fox kind of went crazy? Like it started metaphorically running around in my head and yipping happily and it's figurative tail was wagging and it was jumping all over the place a-and my mind was kind of repeating _mineminemine_ that whole entire time so uh yeah. Umm I've also been noticing how my fox responds to you. Every time I'm in my fox form around you, I let you carry me and pet me and that's never happened before. Not even Lydia can hold me for more than a minute without me trying to wiggle out of her grasp but umm with you it's not like that, so, uh I guess it's safe to say that you're my Beloved."

Derek felt himself grin from ear to ear at the confession. He was Stiles' Beloved and Stiles was his Mate, god this day can't get any better.

The alpha glances outside of the den for a moment only to see the sky painted in pastel pinks and purples with some orange splashed in ever so often. He hadn't noticed how late it was getting, Stiles surely needs to get back home before Scott gets worried.

"It's getting late. Come on, I'll drive you back home." Derek said as he held out his hand for Stiles to take.

The Sub gave him another one of those adorable shy smiles before gently placing his hand on top of his. Derek interlaced their fingers together as they walked out of the den.

Erica and Boyd know that whenever he goes into the preserve, whether it be for a run or scanning the territory or simply needing time to think, they were expected to park the Camaro at the edge of the preserve if he didn't take it with him.

He usually burns out all of his energy while he's in the preserve so he rarely finds it in himself to walk all the way back to the house. Ever since that time he passed out from exhaustion while trudging back to the Hale house after one of his morning runs, he had made sure to always drive back to the house instead of walk. Hopefully the betas hadn't been too distracted by his abrupt escape to fail to complete the task.

When the reached the clearing at the edge of the preserve Derek was relieved to see the Camaro parked in it's usual spot. He opened the side door for the Sub as he reluctantly let go of Stiles' hand before closing it with a soft _thud_ and seating himself in the driver's seat.

The drive was spent in comfortable silence with the exception of whenever Stiles would give him directs to the house. Eventually they made it to a large two story house painted grey with white lining and lots of windows.

It seemed to be one of the older houses in the neighborhood, just a little bit more isolated than the other houses, but it was clearly in good shape and it seemed to have gone through some renovations.

When Derek set the car on park he swiftly got out of the Camaro and opened Stiles' door. The Sub seemed a bit flustered by all the attention Derek was giving him but not uncomfortable.

Once Stiles got out of the car Derek closed the passenger door. The alpha noticed Stiles biting his lip and fidgeting with his sleeve again. Derek wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if this was some kind of nervous tic the Sub had.

"So umm I was wondering a-are we like a thing now? I mean- uh are we t-together? Like I can say y-you're my Dom and stuff?" Stiles stuttered as a deep red set on his cheeks while his eyes flickered nervously between Derek and the floor.

The alpha looked down fondly at the Sub before placing a firm hand over the nape of Stiles' neck giving a reassuring squeeze. His wolf's tail wagged as all the tension from the werefox's stance dissipated and his eyes fluttered shut with a blissful sigh.

"Yes Stiles, we're together. From now on you're my Sub and I'm your Dom, but I don't plan on dominating you just yet, at least not sexually. I want to take things slow; I want to court you before we do anything you might not be ready for right now. We'll talk about all the details tomorrow, sound good sweetheart?"

Stiles opened his eyes with an expression of complete contentment on his face as he beamed up at the alpha, "Aye Aye captain."

Derek squeezed Stiles' neck one last time before pulling his hand away, he smiled at the Sub as he walked toward the front porch of the house. Then, out of nowhere Stiles turned around, rushed back and kissed Derek on the cheek!

The Dom could feel a burning warmth resonating in his cheeks. The heat only intensified as Stiles gave him a dazzling smile with a splash of pink coloring his cheeks.

"Goodnight Der." Stiles said before turning back around and disappearing behind the front door.

Derek stood there in stunned silence before finally uttering a quiet, "Night Stiles." knowing that his mate could hear his whispered farewell.

He soon got back inside the Camaro, still shocked by what happened, and started his way back to the Hale house.

 

* * *

 

After Stiles got inside the house he was ecstatic when he saw Lydia, looking as perfectly polished as always, sitting on the sofa as he heard Scott's heartbeat upstairs.

He couldn't hold it back any longer, so, he sprinted across the room to where Lydia was sitting and babbled to his heart's content.

"Derek kurwa Hale jest moim dominującym!" He shouted, startling the strawberry blonde goddess into looking up from her wedding magazine.

"Stiles what-"

"Lydia nie uwierzysz, co mi się przytrafiło! Biegałem po lesie gdy nagle ten łajdak pojawił się znikąd i zaczął mnie gonić! Boże, on był przerażający! Ale Derek pojawił się i mnie uratował. Potem zabrał mnie do jakiejś jaskini, sama jego obecność sprawiła, że czułem się bezpiecznie. Potem zaczął mi mówić jak jestem piękny jak mnie polubił od pierwszego spotkania, a potem okazało się, że jest moim umiłowanym! Mój umiłowany Lydia! Derek-bóg mokrych snów- jest moim umiłowanym! Czuję się jak we śnie!!"

"STILES!!!" Lydia screeched causing Stiles to shut his mouth instantly, "The only thing I understood out of all of that was 'Derek' and 'Lydia'. You know I don't speak Polish." the banshee grumbled.

Lydia never liked the fact that Stiles knew a language she didn't since she's practically a linguistics doyen. She was always into the more ancient languages though, so she never really cared to learn much of modern languages.

Once she mastered French, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Japanese, and German Lydia had found that she'd speak modern languages fluently within the time span of 2 weeks and decided to learn more difficult tongues to keep her occupied.

Stiles knows that if she really wanted to Lydia would be speaking perfect Polish within a week but she let him have his own special ability. She knew that speaking Polish was a thing he'd only done with his mom and that if someone else close to him spoke it and they'd have conversations in Polish like he and his mom used to, it wouldn't seem all that special anymore.

He's so grateful to have Lyds as his best friend.

"Sorry, I just got carried away for a sec." He explains scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

Lydia smirks as she gets a predatory gleam in her eye that makes Stiles feel like a dear catch in headlights, "Spill it. You only speak Polish when you're unbelievably excited about something."

Stiles takes a deep breathe before retelling her everything that happened, from the rogue all the way to when he heard Derek whisper back 'night Stiles', in the end he was smiling so hard his face hurt and there was no doubt in his mind that his cheeks were a dark shade of red.

"God dammit Stiles. I tell you to be careful and you almost get killed by a rogue." She said in a serious voice but her eyes were bright and teasing, "Looks like you finally found someone to like your senseless babbling, I was starting to think I'd be stuck with you forever."

Stiles gawked and shoved her playfully, causing a laugh to escape from her red lips. He was about to make a sarcastic comment but was interrupted by Scott running down the stairs.

"Daddy!!" The little boy squealed as he jumped on Stiles' lap and buried his face into the Sub's neck, "I missed you, did you chase any bunnies?" 

Stiles let out a small chuckle at Scott's comment as he combed his fingered through Scott's hair, "No pup I didn't chase any bunnies."

"Aww but I like bunnies. Bunnies are cute!" Stiles can feel the pup pout against his neck

"Scott you think every animal is cute." He pointed out as he rolled his eyes.

"Because they _are_ cute!" Scott explained as he pulled his face away from Stiles' neck and smiles brightly at him.

"Well I think it's time for me to go now."  Lydia spoke, catching both of their attention.

"Okay, Bye Auntie Lydia!" Scott exclaimed with an enthusiastic wave.

Stiles just shook his head fondly at his pup's excitableness. He placed Scott down on the sofa as he stood up to walk Lydia out the door.

"Scotty why don't you get ready for your bath? I'll be right up once I say goodbye to Lydia."

"kay." The pup responded as he ran back upstairs.

Stiles walked Lydia to the front porch but the banshee stopped and turned to him before he got the chance to say his usual farewell. Her eyes were soft and her expression was uncharacteristically sincere.

"I'm really happy for you Stiles. You deserve someone to take care of you after all you've had to suffer through." Lydia smiled at him and not even a second later Stiles found himself enveloped in a tight hug, "You deserve to be happy," She whispered before pulling away from the hug with a venomous glare in her eyes, "but if he ever hurts you in any way, shape, or form I _will_ kill him. Even if he is your Beloved."

Stiles simply rolled his eyes and shoved her in the direction of her Prius, "Just go already. I'm sure Jackie is staring at his bank account in a blind panic waiting for money to magically disappear."

Lydia turns around so fast Stiles heard her neck crack as she stared him down with a piercing glare, "Ah, bitch, you want to run that by me one more time?"

Stiles gives her his best shit eating grin, "You know you love me Lyds."

The switch lets out an exasperated sigh while shaking her head disapprovingly at him. She turns her back to him and walks over to her precious Prius.

Once she's opening the driver's seat Stiles shouts, "Lydia Martin I know you adore me under that cold exterior!!!"

Lydia just raises her middle finger proudly in the air as she steps inside her car and shuts the door. Stiles laughs as she drives out of the drive way waving at her exaggeratedly with a shit eating grin plastered on his face.

 When he can't see Lydia's Prius anymore he makes his way back inside the house and walks up the stair case to help Scott take his bath.

He opened the door to the upstairs bathroom and saw that Scott had already finished getting all his things prepared. He had his bath bubbles on top of the vanity as well as his tear free shampoo and conditioner.

Stiles was pleasantly surprised when he saw that Scott had selected a clean pair of batman pajamas messily folded with his rubber ducky perched on top of the clothes.

Scott was sitting on the fluffy yellow toilet lid wearing his hooded shark bath robes. The only thing that was missing was actually getting the bath started.

As Stiles started getting the water warm Scott talked about all the things he did at Auntie Lydia's house. He talked about playing hide-and-go-seek with Ally and Danny, laughing at Jax when he started throwing Legos at the TV because 'Bella is an idiot for spending so much time with Jacob when it's obvious that her and Edward are soulmates' -fucking twihard-, helping Auntie Lydia fold all the pretty wedding invitations, and singing Disney songs in the car while Auntie Lydia was driving him back home.

By the time Scott finished explaining all the amazing things that happened during his visit to Auntie Lydia's house, the bath was all nice and warm filled with a mountain of bubbles.

"Come on pup, bath time." Stiles announced as he got up to get Scott's shampoo and conditioner from the bathroom vanity.

"BUBBLES!" Scott squealed as he hurriedly took off his robe and submerged himself into the bubble covered bathtub.

Stiles returned with the shampoo and conditioner shortly, Stiles never liked getting one of those two-in-ones that most people seem to buy, it never got the hair feeling as soft as using separate shampoo and conditioner did and Scott always loved bath time, so, Stiles didn't mind prolonging the process a little bit.

He put some shampoo on the palm of his hand and gently massaged it into Scott's hair. The pup's hair was a bit on the long side and it would usually get stuck to his forehead, so, Stiles always made sure to pull the little boy's hair away from his face during his bath. Scott might be a werewolf and the bottle might say 'tear free' but the kid was sensitive as hell, so, Stiles doesn't take any chances.

The werefox is in the middle of shampooing the back of Scott's head when the pup speaks up again.

"Mommy? Do you not like me anymore?" Scott asked in such a resigned tone that it made Stiles' heart ache.

"Of course I still like you pup. I _love_ you, you're my baby boy I'll always love you." Stiles answered while looking at Scott's big brown puppy eyes.

"Then why are you always leaving? Whenever you leave you always tell me and we mind link every hour but... you don't mind link me when you're away anymore. Are you mad at me?" The young boy asked with tears swimming in his eyes waiting to spill over at any moment.

Stiles sighed heavily. He knew Scott was going to catch on sooner or later he just wished he would have had more time to prepare for this. The Sub stopped washing Scott's hair and focused all his attention on his pup.

"Scotty, me not mind linking you like I was supposed to isn't your fault whatsoever. You see for a while now I've been... having this problem. You know how Doms and Dommes are supposed to take care of Subs right?"

"Yeah! They're supposed to make the Subs feel good and keep them safe, it's in their blood right mommy?" Scott informed proudly.

"That's right pup." Stiles encouraged while tickling Scott's belly briefly, causing him to giggle, before lean back and continuing his explanation.

"Well, there are some Doms that don't do what their supposed to. Instead of taking care of their Sub they hurt them and say mean things about them. For the last 6 months I had a Dom that always hurt me, sometimes he'd hurt me so much I'd black out or go into a drop, that's why sometimes when I'd leave I wouldn't mind link you. Because I couldn't. But it's okay now, he's not my Dom anymore and he's going to go to jail for a very long time, so, he can't hurt me anymore."

Scott began to sniffle and before Stiles could do anything about it the pup started to full out _sob_. He leaned forward and clung onto Stiles' torso while he buried his face into the older man's chest.

"I-I'm sorry mommy! I didn't know you were being hurt!! I'm sorry I couldn't save you from the mean Dom! I'm s-so sorry mommy, I'm so sorry!!" The boy wailed as he soaked Stiles' sweater, not that the Sub cared about that right now.

"Hey, it's alright pup. I'm okay now see? I'm perfectly fine. No one is going to hurt me anymore." Stiles reassured the hysterical pup as he stroked his still soapy hair though his fingers.

After a while of softly stroking the little boy's hair and whispering over and over that he was in fact okay, Scott's sobs turned into quiet sniffles. Stiles stroked his hair a little longer before pulling back and wiping Scott's tears away with his thumbs.

They quickly finished with the rest of the bath and soon enough Stiles had Scott wrapped in his fluffy blue towel as he drains the water from the tub.

Scott puts on his Batman pajamas and Stiles blow dries his hair for a few minutes before unplugging it and swiftly putting it back on the top shelf of the mirror cabinet.

The Sub was making macaroni and cheese for dinner because he didn't feel up for experimenting in the kitchen today. It was pretty late compared to when he normally made dinner and he didn't feel creative enough to actually think of anything other than some simple mac and cheese. Besides Scott loved it, so, it's a win-win situation.

Stiles was just about to get some plates from the cabinets when Scott spoke from his place on one of the kitchen bar stools where he was currently drawing a picture of what looked like a dinosaur even though the page he was drawing on clearly indicated the lines to look like a giraffe. Can't say the kid didn't have imagination.

"Do you love Derek?"

The unexpected question made Stiles to lose his grip on the plate. Luckily he was able to catch it in the nick of time before it shattered into a million tiny pieces on the kitchen floor. However, saving the plate somehow managed to make him lose control of his feet causing him to land in a flailing heap on the floor with the plate safely on his chest.

Scott erupted into fits of giggles as Stiles grumbled trying to get off the floor with as much dignity as possible.

Of course dignity flew out the window when he stammered out, "W-what makes you say s-something like t-that?"

"I have super hearing." Scott replied giving Stiles the most unimpressed look a 6 year old could pull off.

Stiles sighed as he looked at his pup for a moment with a soft smile on his face. He never thought he'd be talking about relationships with Scott so soon; let alone think they would be talking about _his_ relationships.

"I don't know. I think I do. We don't really know each other that well yet but I know I feel very strongly for him. You don't mind? Derek being my Dom can mean that I won't be able to mind link you when we're not together sometimes."

Suddenly, Scott smelled of panic and anxiety. The little pup looked at Stiles with frightened eyes as he said, "He's not going to hurt you is he?!"

Stiles rushed to Scott's side and wrapped his arms tightly around him as the pup instantly clung to his neck.

"Of course not. Derek wouldn't hurt me like that. He is actually the reason that the mean Dom isn't hurting me anymore, he saved me and now he's going to do everything he can to make sure I'm safe." Stiles soothed as he rubbed his hand up and down Scott's back.

"Like a good Dom?" Scott asked without lifting his head from where it's hidden in Stiles' neck.

The werefox kissed the top of Scott's head as he replied, "Yes, like a good Dom."

"Okay." Scott whispered but didn't let go of Stiles' neck. In fact, he clung tighter to the Sub, as if he's afraid of what might happen when he lefts go.

Stiles hates it when Scott gets like this. His pup is so afraid that one day he'll walk out the door and never come back.

Stiles wants desperately to tell him that he's not going anywhere, that he's going to always be there for Scott whenever he needs it. But he can't. Stiles has heard too many people make those types of promises to him and all of them have failed to keep it. He doesn't want to tell Scott he'll always be there because there is no way of telling if he actually will.

All he can say is that Scott is the most precious thing in the world to him and that he loves him and will always love him no matter what. Hopefully, one day, his pup will manage to believe it.

"Hey pup?"

"Hmm?" Scott hummed with his head firmly on the crook of Stiles' neck.

"Do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?" The Sub inquired gently as his hand went from stroking his back to calming through the pup's messy brown hair.

Scott nodded as his grip loosened slightly, but Stiles didn't dare pull back from the embrace. Scott clearly needed physical contact right now.

"Alright, come on. Let's eat some yummy mac and cheese prepared from the master chef, Mr. Stilinski himself, and then we can go to bed."

Scott moved his head slightly to look up at the Sub with a content smile on his face and nodded his head before loosening the embrace a bit more.

Stiles knew the pup didn't want to break the physical contact completely so he placed Scott on his lap as they began eating their delicious dinner.

When they were both finished and set the plates in the dishwasher, Stiles made his way back upstairs to the master bedroom with Scott still held tightly in his arms.

Stiles took the fastest shower of his life and he quickly changed into one of his old shirts and a pair of soft pajama bottoms before going to into the bedroom where Scott was currently leaning against the head board with his thumb in his mouth.

The werefox mentally groaned at the sight. Scott only sucks his thumb when he's scared or anxious about Stiles leaving. It usually happens after he gets a nightmare or when he's missing Stiles and thinking he isn't coming back.

Stiles has tried everything he can to help Scott break his thumb sucking habit. All that ever seemed to do, however, was make Scott self-conscious about his habit and make him feel bad for still doing it when he was supposed to have stop at the age of 4-5, so, Stiles stopped trying to break the habit a while ago.

He'll grow out of it when he's ready.

Stiles doesn't mention the thumb sucking as he kisses Scott's forehead and climbs onto the bed next to the little boy.  

They settle in the middle of the large queen sized bed with Scott's face pressed comfortably on top of Stiles' chest and one of Stiles' hands placed securely on the little boy's back while the other was soothingly stroking through the pup's soft brown hair.

"I love you pup." Stiles whispered affectionately at the half sleeping boy in his arms.

"I love you too mommy." The pup mumbled around the thumb in his mouth before drifting off into a blissful sleep.

 

* * *

 

When Derek steps inside the Hale house he's instantly bombarded by a nosy Erica, a seemingly concerned Boyd, and an extremely upset Isaac.

"So, Derek, what happened to Bambi?" The female beta pestered as he tried to make his way into the kitchen, knowing that none of them bothered to make dinner.

Derek grabs 4 boxes of those frozen Digiorno pizzas they had in the fridge and took them out of the box to place them in the oven. He doesn't really feel like cooking enough for 4 werewolves. They all devoir pizza like it's the greatest thing in the world so might as well make some tonight.

"He, uh, had a little bit of trouble with a rogue and a bear trap." The second the words were out of Derek's mouth Erica gasped.

"What the hell! Hunting isn't allowed in the preserve how the fuck did Bambi get stuck in a bear trap?! And a rogue!?! Jesus Christ Bambi has to have the worst luck ever!"

Before Derek can reprimand Erica for shouting, Boyd speaks up.

"Erica you're scaring Isaac. Calm down." Boyd orders calmly as Derek gives him an appreciative nod.

The alpha honestly doesn't know what he'd do without Boyd there to calm Erica most of the time. The blonde beta is a firecracker that Derek just doesn't know how to deal with in most cases.

"Sorry babe," she says while kissed Boyd's cheek apologetically, "I just got carried away. Sorry for scaring you Isaac." She directs to the teary eyed boy.

 Isaac sniffled as he whispered, "It's okay." The young beta then looked up at Derek with a worried expression and pleading eyes as he asked, "Is Stiles going to be okay? Is he hurt?"

Derek smiled down at the 7 year old sweetly while he ruffled the boy's curly locks before replying, "Stiles is going to be fine, Isaac. I'll try my best to make sure nothing ever hurts him again."

Isaac gave him a small smile but Derek can see the mischievous smirk on Erica's face from the corner of his eye.

Crap.

"Is that so." She purred, "Then please tell us what else happened on your little adventure with Bambi today. And don't even think about sparing any details Derek or else I will make your life a living nightmare."

"You already do that." Derek responded off handedly while he made sure the temperature was set on 400 degrees Fahrenheit and placed the timer for 23 minutes.

"Then I'll tell Bambi about the time you moaned 'Stiles' so loud in the bathroom that I heard you from the living room even though all the rooms in this house are sound proof." She said as she examined her manicured nails.

"You. Wouldn't. Dare." The alpha growled out sending a deadly glare at the teen.

Erica looked at him with amused eyes and a smirk displayed on her triumphant face, "Try me."

Derek growled at the beta with a brief flash of his eyes before spitting out a short, "Fine." causing the girl to smile brightly. Fucking manipulative asshole.

"Let's just say Stiles might know a thing or two about mates and it may or may not have come to my attention that I'm his Beloved and there's a possibility that I'll be picking him up at 7 tomorrow to take him to dinner." The werewolf mumbled as he observed the teenage beta light up with every word.

"OH MY GOD!! Derek that's amazing!!! You see Boyd, I TOLD you they would become a thing before the end of this week! The Sterek ship has officially sailed!!!!!! My OTP is CANON I've never felt so accomplished in my entire LIFE!!"

"Erica you need to stop. You're fangirling is frightening people." Derek deadpans, causing Erica to stop jumping up and down and turn to him with hands on her hips.

"Isaac doesn't seem afraid." She says as he points to the giggling 7 year old.

"Who said I was talking about Isaac? You're behavior is terrifying me and quite frankly it's making me concerned for your sanity... Again."

Erica snorts out a cackle -a literal _cackle_ \- as she says, "Please, everyone here knows my sanity flew out the window a long time ago. The only thing that has been on my mind all lately is when you and Bambi are going to do the hanky panky."

Derek's eyes widen for a split second before he starts chocking on air. He honestly wasn't expecting that to come out of her mouth, at least not in front of Isaac anyway.

"What's the hanky panky?" The innocent little wolf asked. Bless his pure soul that has miraculously not been tainted by his adoptive sister's antics.

Boyd rolls his eyes at Erica as chuckles maniacally over Derek's reaction before turning his attention to the confused boy.

"It's something you'll do when you're older." He answers while patting Isaac's head.

"Yep. And if you find your mate early, like me and Boyd did, you'll be getting a _lot_ of hanky panky." Erica chimed in while winking at her dark skinned mate.

Boyd shakes his head exasperatedly at the switch but a small smirk tugs at his lips as his eyes travel up and down the girl's body.

Derek's hands fly up as he shouts, "NOPE. I don't want to know, we have sound proof rooms for a _reason_. I'll just stay here and keep telling myself that you are both virgins and this is all a hallucination."

Erica laughs as she says, "Me and Boyd lost our V-cards at 15. What world are you living in?"

"VIRGINS!!" Derek screamed as he quickly walked up the stairs, "Knock on my door when the pizzas are ready, I don't want to deal with this right now."

He hears Erica laughing and smells the confusing radiating off of Isaac before he closes the door to the master bedroom. Once he closes the door all the sounds and smells from outside the room disappear.

Finally.

 

* * *

 

 The next day when Derek walks into the station, he walks into Sheriff Stilinski's office with a different reason than usual.

The alpha knocks on the door and waits for the faint 'come in' before stepping into the room. The sheriff is sitting on his desk with a cup of coffee and a box of donuts by his side while he looks over a file. He glances up and seems surprised when Derek comes into the room.

"Derek? What are you doing here, you have Sundays off." John says in a tone that implicates he doesn't find it all that hard to believe that Derek would be at the station on his day off.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Derek explains as he watches the sheriff stuff half a donut in his mouth.

"Do't jud'e meh!" He says before swallowing, "Stiles gave me a little surprise visit last Friday and took away everything he thought was 'unhealthy' from my house. I would have just bought more but apparently Stiles got all of the shops and cafés to agree to ban me from buying sweets. Parrish felt bad for me because I haven't had anything good to eat for over a week so he bought me this box of donuts. At least I have _someone_ who loves me."

The Dom huffs out a laugh, his mate was amazing. Speaking of which...

"Actually, it's good you brought him up. He's what I wanted to talk to you about."

John's hand stops with the donut half way to his mouth as the man instantly becomes more alert.

"What happened to Stiles?" The sheriff asked with a serious expression on his face even though the scent of fear quickly consumed him.

"Nothing happened to him." Derek reassures, perhaps a little too quickly considering John's slightly bewildered expression.

"I mean, that's not what I came here to talk about. You see, I wanted to tell you that I'm courting Stiles." The alpha explains.

He wasn't here to ask for John's permission to court him considering him and Stiles have already agreed to it and it wasn't anyone's decision but their own. However, Derek felt he should let the sheriff know immediately. This was Stiles' father after all and the alpha knew how important it was to Stiles for his father to approve of their relationship even if the Sub hadn't mentioned it.

 The sheriff blinked. Once, twice, three times. It came to the point where Derek debated whether or not he should wave his hand in front of the older man's face to get him to snap out of it.

Before he made a decides though, the sheriff shook his head slightly and looked at him with calculating eyes.

"You're courting Stiles." He said slowly as if checking if he heard correctly.

"Yes. Me and Stiles both agreed to it yesterday. I thought you'd like to know as soon as possible." He confirmed looking John in the eye to make it clear that he wasn't going to back down.

They stared at each other for a long moment before the sheriff relented and leaned back into his chair with a sigh. The older man looked at Derek as a tired smile made it's appearance on his face.

"You're his Beloved aren't you." It was clear the sheriff hadn't meant it as a question but Derek answered anyway.

"Yes, and he's my mate."

 The switch laughed softly, "Figures... You know I had a suspicion you were when I saw the school security footage last Friday. The way he didn't even flinch or growl when you held him in his fox form. He fox never liked having people touch him _especially_ in a subdrop, trust me, I've tried. Little kit almost bite off my finger. The only other person I've seen his fox react like that to is Scott and well... Claudia... he was always more of a mama's boy."

John got a faraway look in his face and his eyes were distant. Derek wondering if the sheriff was conscious of what was coming out of his mouth. It seemed like his words held more meaning than one would originally assume.

The sheriff sighed and looked at Derek like he was deciding whether or not he should continue. After another moment of silent staring the sheriff folded his hands on his desk and made sure to make eye contact with the alpha.

"Alright. If you're courting Stiles there are somethings you should know that I doubt Stiles will address with you. Don't tell him I told you anything about this, he'll think you pity him or something stupid like that. When he eventually tells you these things act as if it's the first time you've heard it. Stiles will most likely tell you one step at a time so don't pester him to continue. Am I understood?"

Derek nods immediately. The sheriff doesn't usually use that tone of voice unless it's something extremely important.

"Good. First of all you need to understand that Claudia is a very sensitive topic for Stiles. He blames himself for her death even though I've told him countless time it wasn't his fault. He has a lot of nightmares because of it, they've become less frequent over the years but he still gets them every once in a while. The way she died did a lot of... _damage_ to Stiles. Do you remember the case that became famous world wide about 14 years ago? The one that made the Beserkers a well known hate group?"

 "The one where they tried to kill a child but the mother fought them off?" The sheriff gave an affirmative nod and Derek continued, "How could I forget? It was the case that made me realize I wanted to become a police officer. I was devasted when I heard what happened. The mother fought against 7 Berserkers trying to protect her son and after she killed all of them she died because her injuries were so severe her body stopped healing itself. It was her passion and bravery that inspired me to protect others that can't protect themselves."

John gave him a bittersweet smile as he said, "That was Claudia.. Stiles was everything to her. She'd give anything to keep him safe... Even her life."

Derek stared at the sheriff in complete and utter shock. That women he looked up to for so many years was Stiles' _mother_. She did everything she could to protect him and now Stiles blames himself for her death. The Dom knew Stiles had a guilt complex but he didn't think it went this deep.

"I'm sure Stiles mentioned Malia before right?" 

Derek gave another firm nod, waiting for the sheriff to continue.

"Well, she was his first Domme. I'm not going to go into all the specifics of how they got together but they met in their senior year of high school. Malia was 18 and Stiles was 16."

Derek's eyebrows shot up in surprise. The gesture didn't go unnoticed as the sheriff explained, "Stiles skipped two grade levels." before continuing.

"He helped Malia with some academic issues she was having and they decided to get into a relationship. I agreed as long as they didn't do anything sexual until Stiles' 18th birthday. Then Stiles gets pregnant with Scott 2 weeks before their high school graduation. I can't say I was surprised that they'd been having a sexual relationship, I know how hormonal teenagers can be, but I didn't expect my underaged son to get pregnant at 16. But Malia and him were happy about the baby and since Malia had already collared him there wasn't anything illegal about their situation even though he was a minor. They both got accepted to Stanford, where Stiles met a 17 year old Lydia and the rest was all sunshine and rainbows from what I was told."

John took a deep breath and took a moment to organize his thoughts before speaking again.

"Then I get a call from Melissa, she was a local nurse that was like a mother for Stiles when we moved to Beacon Hills after Claudia's death, the day after Scott's birth. She had been the midwife and reassured me that she stayed by Stiles' side throughout the entire process. Apparently, a group of anti-supernatural activists started attacking the hospital Stiles was in. They killed 14 supernaturals in total and were heading towards the room Stiles was in. Unfortunately, none of them heard them coming over all of Stiles' screams and they barged into the hospital room. Malia managed to get them all out of the room and killed them all off without letting a single one of them get near Stiles or Melissa... but... just as she ripped the last one's throat out... he pulled the trigger, causing a wolfsbane bullet to go straight through her heart. We still don't know if this was just random activists causing trouble or if this was a planned attack with a target set by a hate organization."

Derek let that sink in for a moment. Stiles lost him mother at a young age and then he lost his Domme during a time when he couldn't protect himself.

The alpha has no doubt that Stiles blames himself for both murders even though it was in no way his fault. He's going to make sure his Sub gets all the affection and emotional support he needs. Such traumatic events can do a lot of damage and now Derek knows that Stiles has developed a tendency for blaming himself because of it.

"Malia made a will when her and Stiles found out he was pregnant. All her clothes and jewelry where given to charity, any money she had under her name was given to Stiles, and Stiles' collar was to be buried with her body. At first I didn't understand the reason for the strange request but then I realized what she was trying to do. She knew that Stiles wouldn't allow himself to be happy living with the reminder that his Domme died because of him. Malia was making sure that Stiles had a chance to move on and get a fresh start. After her death Stiles didn't date anyone and kept himself occupied with taking care of Scott. He used the money from the will to rent an apartment close to the university and buy the books he needed for his classes. He took as many online courses as possible and made sure to get the night courses when it was absolutely mandatory."

The sheriff smiled and didn't speak for a while. He appeared so proud of Stiles for all his accomplishment after he went through so much.

"Melissa was... dramatically influenced, you could say, by what happened to Malia. She made a will just in case anything happened to her after seeing how quickly Malia's life was taken away. I don't think she expected to be using that will nearly 3 years later."

Derek groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. God, if Melissa, who was a mother figure for Stiles after his mother's death, died as brutally as Claudia and Malia had, Derek doesn't know how Stiles could still be as cheerful and energetic as he is.

"Don't worry, she wasn't attacked by a mob of Beserkers are anything like that. She lost her life in a car accident on her way back to her house from working the night shift. A guy was texting and driving and moved into the opposite lane where she was driving. It was a front collision, the man wasn't wearing a seatbelt and flew straight through the window and died instantly. Melissa got a spinal injury and died on her way to the hospital. She had apparently donated all of her money to the station, given family photos albums and jewelry to her relatives, her clothes were also donated to charity, and she gave Stiles the ownership to her house. Since Stiles still had a year lift before completing his masters degree in Literature, he hired an architect to renovate the house while he was in Stanford. I have no idea how he managed to afford that but I didn't bother asking questions, Stiles can be a bit too ambitious for his own good but I know he wouldn't do anything illegal to acquire the money, especially since he had Scott."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Derek asked after a moment of silence between them.

John sighed as he looked at Derek tiredly, "Because, Stiles is a great kid with a good heart. He's a fighter but he needs a lot of care, even if he doesn't admit it. He's a needy Sub that demands a lot of attention and patience. Some Doms can't deal with that kind of responsibility... I don't want you to leave him after he trusted you enough to share. He's been through some tough moments in his life but I know he'll break if he opens up to you only for you to abandon him."

Both of them are silent for a moment before Derek speaks up in a hushed tone, "I wouldn't do something like that to Stiles."

"I know, I just wanted you to know what you're getting yourself into. You're a good Dom, Derek. I know you'll take care of him," The small smile on Sheriff Stilinski's face slowly turned into a stern expression, "but if you hurt him. I'll put a wolfsbane bullet through your head."

The alpha laughed at John's sudden personality change, "I'll make sure to keep that in mind."

"Good. I... wasn't the best father to him after Claudia's death, I didn't take care of him like I should have. I'm trusting you to do a better job at being his Dom than I did. Losing Claudia... losing my _Domme_ , well, lets just say I didn't handle the situation very well."

Derek's eyes bulged out of his head as he started to chock on his own spit. The sheriff got an amused smirk on his face at Derek's reaction.

"What's the matter Derek? Didn't know I was a switch?" The older man asked with a teasing glimmer in his blue eyes.

"I knew you were a switch I just. Well I _assumed_ that you were the Dominant in your relationship with your wife." Derek explained with bewilderment clear in his tone.

John's smirk only grew as he stared at the confused Dom, "Nope, Claudia was my Dominant. It's a family trait in the Stilinski family for the girls to be Doms and the boys to be Subs. And before you ask, yes, Stilinski is _her_ surname not mine."

Derek blinks owlishly for a second before getting up from the chair, "I think I'll be going now. Thank you for the shovel talk."

The older man chuckled as he said, "Good bye Derek, hope you have fun on your date."

The alpha turns around so fast he thinks he gave himself whiplash, "How do you know about that?" he asked looking at the sheriff suspiciously.

"I've known you since you were a 14 wet behind the ear kid and worked with you for the past four years. I know how you think."

Derek opened his mouth but no words came out. After a brief silence the alpha just nodded slowly at the sheriff and walked out of the office.

Now all he had to do was come up with the perfect date for him and Stiles.

Piece of cake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! Derek and Stiles finally got together yay!! I can't wait to read all your amazing comments. Keep being your amazing selves!! Also please keep in mind that I do not nor do I know anyone that speaks Polish so if any of you do and I totally butchered the language please blame Google Translate. On another note, if any of you DO know Polish and I said something wrong please tell me the correct way to say it and I will fix it k?
> 
> P.S. Nightshade wanted me to tell you that she is really disappointed people said that Derek is a Hufflepuff. Don't worry about it though it's mostly because I'm a Hufflepuff and Nightshade says that I'm a "harmless innocent flower that must be protected" that obviously belongs in Hufflepuff while Derek -"I'm going to rip your throat out with my teeth"- Hale belongs in Slytherin or Griffindor 
> 
> I don't even know, me and Nightshade have had multiple fights about this but we're besties and I love her so what can you do. Also I hate Twilight so for all of you that wanted to kill me when I wrote that Twilight reference, please don't.


	8. Wanted

This is so _not_ a piece of cake!

Derek has been trying to plan the perfect date for him and Stiles for the last hour but nothing comes to mind. How do you plan an amazing first date with someone without even knowing what they like?

Maybe he can take Stiles to a nice restaurant outside of town? Everyone likes being taken to fancy places right? And as the Alpha of Beacon Hills, it isn't difficult to get last minute reservations, it's perfect.

Satisfied with his decision, Derek goes down to the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone. He went to the station pretty early knowing that John usually takes the morning shift on weekends, it's around 10 right now so the betas should wake up any minute.

Isaac comes downstairs to the kitchen first, as per usual, and sits down on one of the kitchen bar stools patiently as he waits for his scrambled eggs.

Of course, the peaceful silence between them is interrupted just minutes later by Erica and Boyd making their appearance. The two always come down to breakfast together and Erica makes it her mission to make sure Derek doesn't get any peace and quiet for more than 5 minutes a day.

"Hey, Derek. What's for breakfast? I'm starving!!" Erica whined as she flopped down on one of the stools while Boyd sat calmly by her side.

"I thought you fed off of the souls of innocent children." The alpha stated not even bothering to look up from where he is making enough scrambled eggs for four hungry werewolves.

The teenage beta scuffed, "Only on weekdays."

Derek simply rolled his eyes at the switch's antics as he set a plate of scrambled eggs in front of each of them. The betas started to dig in immediately and Derek went back to make himself a fruit smoothie.

Once everyone was done eating Boyd stood up to take care of the dishes with Erica following close behind. However, she had a more obnoxious purpose for wondering in the kitchen.

"So, Derek, where are you taking Bambi for your first date?" She asked, feigning innocence.

"I was thinking about taking him to an Italian restaurant not too far from town" he answered truthfully as he made his way to the living room.

Erica wastes no time smacking him up side the head.

"What the fuck was that for!?" 

"For being stupid! You can't just take Bambi to a big fancy restaurant on a first date, that's impersonal!!" She yells as crossing her arms and glares at him, "first dates are supposed to be special. What you came up with is cliché and unromantic. You have to woo him with things he likes not expensive outings. Plus, I don't think Bambi is the type to be impressed by fancy dinners"

"Well if you have any better ideas I'd love to hear them." Derek bites back sarcastically.

The maniacal grin Erica gives him makes Derek instantly regret all his life choices.

"I know that Bambi _really_ likes curly fries. I overheard him gush about them to one of the parents when they gave him some for being such a good teacher. I swear I heard him squeal when he saw the bag of curly fries. So why don't you take him to a diner or something that has curly fries?"

"That's..." the alpha exclaims fully prepared to explain why that is a horrible idea before he processes the words,"actually not a bad idea" Derek eventually says causing the beta to smile brightly.

the last thing he wants to do is admit that Erica is right but she does bring up a good point. Stiles doesn't seem like the type to relish in an extremely fancy restaurant. However, he still wants to take the Sub somewhere out of town...

Derek knows exactly where to go for his first date with Stiles.

 

* * *

 

 A knock came though the door just as Stiles and Scott were finishing up their chocolate chip pancakes.

Stiles didn't hear anyone coming due to Scott's loud chatter and he didn't smell anything over the delicious aroma of the chocolatey goodness the pair were eating.

The Sub quickly placed the dishes in the sink and went to see who was disrupting his Sunday morning with his pup.

When he opened the door he was a bit surprised to find Lydia with Allison and Danny by her side. She usually calls when she wants him to look after the two of them for her.

"Get in the car loser we're going shopping." She demands as she gives a perfectly calculated hair flip.

"I rather go Pokémon hunting." Stiles deadpans.

"I know right?!" Danny screams exasperatedly causing a smirk to form on the werefox's features as he keeps his eyes on the strawberry blonde fashionista.

"Get in the car. Now!"

Stiles rolled his eyes at the switch before trudging back inside to inform Scott of the horrid event that will be taking place.

Stiles lifted Scott up from the kitchen bar stool and buried his nose in the pup's neck causing a surprised giggled to escape the little boy's lips.

"Let's go, darling. Auntie Lydia wants to torture me by going shopping and this time, I'm taking you down with me." The Sub explained as he set Scott on his hip while making his way toward the banshee's Prius.

"Eww shopping." The boy exclaimed while scrunching up his face in disgust causing Stiles to nod his head in total agreement.

"I know how you feel." Danny murmured from his place next to Lydia as Stiles gently set Scott back down.

"You don't like going shopping either?" Scott asked curiously as he looked at the older boy.

"Nope. It's boring, all the clothes look the same!" The human boy yelled causing the werewolf pup to giggle.

Allison wasn't out of the conversation for long, though, "I think shopping is fun." She announced with a dazzling smile beautifully displayed on her angelic face.

Danny scuffed and rolled his eyes at his adoptive sister, waiting to be backed up by the young werewolf. Of course, that wasn't how things turned out.

"Really?! I think so too!!" Scott shouted instantly when he caught sight of the gorgeous girl.

"That's so cool! I don't know any other boys that like shopping. Want to help me find a new dress?" The little girl asked excitedly.

"Sure!" The pup automatically agreed before Allison grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction of Lydia's car.

Stiles just shook his head at the pup's love struck behavior as Lydia dragged him into the passenger's seat of the Prius. He sees Danny get into the backseat in the far left while Allison sits at the far right with Scott sitting between them. Of course, instead of all 3 of them enjoying each other's company, Scott gives all his attention to the young archer leaving Danny alone to pout about his solitude.

The werefox feels for the boy honestly. He knows how Scott can become a bit... insensitive around others when in the presence of the dimpled girl. Poor Danny, he isn't used to being ignored, this must be killing him.

 "So, Lyds, what exactly are we shopping for?" Stiles asked as he tried to keep himself from laughing at the sight of Danny pouting. The kid was too cute.

"The perfect outfit for your date with the Alpha." She informed nonchalantly, keeping her eyes on the road.

Stiles blinked. Once. Twice... "Lyds, I have an entire walk-in closet filled with outfits. You can't be serious."

"I am very serious." Lydia said with the most deadpan voice Stiles has ever heard.

"But I have, like, a gazillion outfits!! Surely _one_ of them can be worn on a date. Besides I don't even know what the date is going to be, how can you pick the 'perfect' outfit for me when I don't even know what the date is!" Stiles exclaimed, letting his hands flail as he spoke.

"That's exactly why we need to get you a new outfit. All your current outfits are either casual or formal and since we don't know what the date is going to be we need to find an outfit that can be worn in a casual and formal setting. Plus Jackson pissed me off yesterday when he was too busy re-watching Twilight to notice me talking to him, so, I figured a little trip with his credit card is in order."

Stiles isn't stupid, he knows a lost fight when he sees one, and this is definitely a lost fight. So, he does the only logical thing to get him out of Lydia's line of fire. He shut his mouth and sighed, letting the redhead drag him to every boutique until she finds an outfit for him that she deems worthy of her presence.

Their first stop is in a central mall a half an hour away from Beacon Hills. It's where Lydia usually buys his clothes and occasionally hers as well, though, she mostly gets her clothes online. The mall isn't overly crowded considering not a lot of people know about it, but, Lydia loves going in and out of the numerous shops scattered inside the large building.

They all enter the large mall and an hour later Stiles is already getting tired of trying on outfits.

He walks out of the dressing room of DASH in the eleventh outfit that Lydia picked out for him and waited for her judgment on the attire.

"Hmm, not bad but it really doesn't seem like your style. The structure is nice and it accentuates all your good qualities but the colors overpower you and don't really go well with your skin tone." She explained as she circled him like a vulture.

"I think you look pretty in red!" Allison yelled out while smiling adorably at Stiles.

Lydia takes a step back at the little girl's words and eyes him critically. Before long she gives a short nod of agreement and hands him another outfit that has a significant amount of red in it.

"I don't know why daddy needs to change so much. He looks great in everything." Scott interjected, looking every bit like the confused puppy that he is.

Stiles smiled brightly at the pup and ruffled his hair affectionately, "Thank you pup, but Auntie Lydia's the boss right now and I have to do what she says or else she'll eat me."

The pup's eyes widen comically while he starts frantically pushing Stiles back into the dressing room shouting, "GO BACK GO BACK! Before Auntie Lydia eats you!!"

The werefox smiled and shook his head fondly at his little pup's behavior -Scott takes everything so literally- while he entered the changing rooms yet again.

Stiles took a moment to look at himself in the full-length mirror of the changing room. He had to admit this was his favorite outfit so far.

It was a simple red button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows over a black undershirt accompanied with dark skinny jeans that made his butt look amazing.

When Stiles walks out he stands in front of everyone and once again waits for Lydia's judgment.

The switch narrows her eyes at him and swirls her finger around, indicating to him to turn. Slowly, Stiles turns around for the banshee to see him from behind.

It's awkward as all hell because he knows that she's staring at his ass. If Jackie was here he'd have a paroxysm of rage.

"Well, those jeans are by far the most flattering you've had on." Lydia says as she moves to stand in front of him, "And the color of the shirt does compliment your pale skin. I think we have a winner."

At Lydia's words, Allison and Scott start clapping and cheering while Danny mutters something along the lines of "bloody muggles and their weird customs" that startles a laugh out of Stiles. He loves Danny, that kid is amazing.

After they purchase the outfit, they make it back towards the car. Jackie isn't going to be happy with the dint they made in his wallet. The $369 sized dint. Seriously what is it with Lydia and her love of overly expensive things. Stiles almost feels bad for the guy. Having to live with the constant fear to of not knowing if your money will vanish or not must be exhausting.

When they make it back to Stiles' house the werefox notices that Danny is sulking in the living room while Ally and Scott talk animatedly on their way upstairs. Lydia is in his closet deciding what shoes will go best with the outfit they just bought, so, the Sub plops down on the couch next to the little boy.

"What's wrong?" Stiles asks gently, patiently waiting for the boy's answer.

Danny looks up at him with a pout firmly on his lips, "Scott doesn't like me anymore."

"What? Danny, what are you talking about? Scott adores you." He reassures, placing a soothing hand on the boy's back.

"No, he likes _Allison_. He's been talking to her all day and whenever _I_ try to say anything they both ignore me."

"Well, Scott has a crush on Allison right now so he gets a little distracted when she's around and Allison is your sister and she likes to talk to people other than her brother." Stiles explains.

"But what if I like Scott too!!" Danny shouts in frustration.

Stiles opens his mouth but nothing comes out. Does Danny mean he likes Scott or he _likes_ Scott? Because if it's the latter, then Stiles did so not see that coming. He was sure that Danny had a crush on Isaac, then again, he could be wrong and Danny can just see Isaac as a friend. Still, he'd been so sure with the way the two interact in class that it was something more.

"Danny. Do you have a crush on Scott?" Stiles inquired.

The boy blushed, turning his head to stare down at his shoes, "M-maybe."

Stiles contemplated this for a second before saying, "Huh, I could have sworn you had a crush on Isaac."

The comment only made Danny blush even more and the boy looked so similar to a tomato Stiles thought he would burst into flames or something.

"Wait... Danny... Do you have a crush on Isaac too?"

The boy just nodded his head, still looking at his shoes.

 _Jesus_ _Christ_  when did Stiles' life get so complicated? It's like a fucking soap opera. Scott likes Allison but Allison likes this other girl named Cora, then Danny likes Scott _and_ Isaac. How is this his life?

 "Stiles! Get your perky little butt up here so I can do something about that bird's nest of yours you call hair."

Yep. This is his life.

 

* * *

 

Derek was just about ready to die when he found himself standing in front of Stiles' front door waiting anxiously for the damned piece of wood to open.

He hears a faint 'He's casual, put it on!!' that he can distinctly recognize as Ms. Martin's and suddenly the door flies open.

"Hey Derek, Stiles will be right down. He's just finishing getting dressed." The petite female explained as she gave him a once over with the most analytical gaze Derek has ever seen.

The alpha gets the urge to shift uncomfortably under her critical stare but managed to hide it behind a calm and collected exterior. It's a good thing his mom gave him alpha lessons when he was old enough.

The teachings of Alpha/Alpha mannerisms are usually taught to the alpha destined to lead the pack after the current alpha steps down. In his family, that alpha was Laura. However, his mom said that knowing how to stay calm and relaxed in a stressful situation was something that all Alpha/Alpha category werewolves should learn.

Good thing she did, or else he would be acting like a nervous child right about now with the way the banshee was looking at him.

"Tell me, you _are_ going to take things slow with Stiles correct?" She inquired with a deadly glare.

"Of course." Derek replies immediately. Stiles is in a very complex situation right now, the last thing Derek wants to do is rush the little fox into doing anything before he's ready.

The banshee gives him a quick once over before her face splits into a blinding smile, "Good, because if you hurt him in any way, I will end you. Am I being clear Hale?"

Derek simply nods, not able to speak from the shock of how she could have said all that with the sweetest face in the universe. If someone saw them from a distance in which they wouldn't be able to hear her words they'd probably think she was offering him a home baked pie or something.

Lydia smirks as if somehow reading his mind and swiftly walks into another part of the house.

The second she leaves Derek is left gaping in the front porch because Stiles is standing a few feet away from him wearing a red button up shirt that shows off his surprisingly broad shoulders along with the most alluring jeans Derek has ever seen. Seriously they must be painted on or something because they leave practically nothing to the imagination.

 _Jesus Christ,_ Stiles was wearing those glasses again. Derek was going to die tonight, he can feel it.

"Hey, sourwolf, like what you see?" Stiles asks with a teasing smile on his face.

"Sourwolf?" Derek says, completely ignoring the fact that he was caught staring at the Sub, though he can feel his cheeks burning.

Stiles rolls his eyes and quickly says his goodbyes as he exits the house and shuts the door behind him.

"It's a nickname. You always look like you ate something sour since your brows are always furrowed and you frown all the time plus you're a werewolf, so, I came up with the sourwolf." Stiles explained as Derek walks him towards the Camaro.

 The alpha opens the passenger door for Stiles as he grumbles over the nickname. It's not like he wants to be in a bad mood all the time. He doesn't. People are annoying, always staring at him and reeking of lust. It's hard for Derek to look happy when he wants to yell at everyone around him to control their mother fucking hormones.

Once they were both in the car, Derek drove out of the parking lot and headed towards their destination. It's about 25 minutes out of town, so, they have plenty of time before they get there. Speaking of which...

"Stiles, we need to talk." At the words Stiles visibly stiffened and looked at Derek anxiously.

Shit, that came out a lot harsher than he intended.

"You're not in trouble Stiles. I just want you to understand a few things before we get there." Derek explained gently.

Stiles still looked anxious, but, not as tense as before.

"First and foremost you need to know my rules. From now on you need to be accompanied by me or some else while you go for runs, the last thing I want is a repeat of what happened yesterday" Derek waits for Stiles to nod before continuing, "keep me informed of what's going on at all times, you don't have to ask me permission to go do something or anything but I want to know where you are just in case something happens. If you need anything, and I mean _anything_ , you don't hesitate to tell me. No lying, I don't appreciate being lied to and you in particular have no reason to lie to me, I want to help you Stiles, I can't do that if I don't know what's going on. lastly, from now on I don't want you to use scent blockers, it agitates my wolf and me when I can't smell your scent when you're near me. There will be more rules later on depending on your specific needs but those are the fundamental ones you need to follow."

Stiles still looks anxious for some reason, so, Derek intertwines their fingers together and rubs soothing circles on Stiles' hand with his thumb. The gesture has the desired affect and the werefox relaxed instantly.

"We should also talk about what we're going to do for punishments. Is there anything, in particular, you don't like or that you find very effective?" Derek asks as he keeps rubbing circles on the Sub's hand.

"I um I don't want you to excommunicate me, like I don't want you to stop talking to me or act like I'm not there as a punishment. I'll have a panic attack if you do that. Also I know that a lot of Doms are starting to use time outs to punish there Subs, can we maybe not do that? If you put me in a corner and make me stare at the wall while not being allowed to move or talk for X amount of minutes I'll probably work myself into a drop. I don't know why but I get extremely distressed when I can't see what's going on and my mind starts thinking all these horrible things like 'did they leave me?' 'do they still want me?' 'they probably hate me now' 'I screw everything up' and so on."

Derek nods as he analyzes Stiles' words, it sounds like the Sub has a strong need for attention and Derek is going to have to give him lots of reassurance during and after punishments to avoid distressing him.

"Alright, no excommunication or time outs as punishments. Anything else?"

Stiles takes a few moments to think about this before responding, "Well I don't want you to physically harm me, like break my arm or something as punishment. I may have enhanced healing abilities but that still hurts. Other than that I don't think there's anything else."

"Okay. Next thing we need to talk about are limits, both hard and soft. You don't have to say any of your limits specific to sexual play since we won't be doing any sexual scenes in a while but you can tell me them if you want."

"Uh don't degrade me, like don't call me a slut or a worthless wore, it um it's kind of a trigger for me since Theo would say things like that all the time. I don't like anything to do with needles. I hate needles and knives and anything that can draw blood for that matter, so, anything that can make me seriously bleed is out of the question. Breathe play is a no as well. Bondage is perfectly fine with me, I love bondage, but please don't use rope. I'm not a big fan of fire play or ice play either, maybe you can use them during sensation play or something but not as the main part of the scene. No gags. Sarcasm is my only defense, so, if you take that away from me I'm not sure how I'll react to it. I also don't want to be in competitions, like where the Sub has to be dominated by other Doms and they get scored on how well they do or some shit like that. I don't want to be dominated by anyone that isn't you, so, yeah. I guess another thing would be that I don't want you dominating other Subs- wait. This is a monogamous relationship right? Because I was under the impression that it was but if it's not and you still want to dominate other Subs then this really isn't going to work out. I can't-"

 Stiles falters in his rambling when he feels Derek kiss his hand.

"I want you, Stiles. _Only_ you. I wouldn't dream of dominating anyone else, not when I have someone as perfect as you." Derek reassures, smiling when he looks over to see that the Sub's cheeks have turned a light shade of pink.

The alpha turns his attention back on the road and continues to speak, "It looks like we agree on most of the limits. The last thing I want to do is hurt you so any type of pain play is out of the question. Though I did think you'd look pretty with a gag but I won't do anything unless you're absolutely sure you want to try it. Rape or kidnapping RP scenes are also something I won't do whatsoever. food play is a pain in the ass when it comes to clean up and I honestly don't enjoy it much. I'm not into watersports either, or anything including other bodily fluids for that matter. Other than that I think that's it, we can discuss any sexual kinks or limits when we reach that part of our relationship."

Stiles nods in understanding and Derek takes it as his cue to keep going, "Now we have to discuss safe words, both verbal and nonverbal. My safe word is Triskele."

Stiles visibly freezes and his heart rate sky rockets. Derek has no idea why the Sub had such a reaction just by talking about safe words, this is the most important part but usually the easiest to breach. The alpha waits for a few moments, giving Stiles time to explain but nothing comes out.

"Stiles?" Derek says tentatively. The word seems to snap Stiles out of whatever haze he was in but the werefox didn't look any more relaxed that he did a second ago.

"Oh um, my safe word is foxglove but uh c-can I use something else? I safe worded during one of Theo's punishments and it uh it didn't go very well." Stiles stuttered out as he fidgeted in his seat.

Derek somehow managed to suppress the growl making it's way up his throat. What the fuck did that bastard do to Stiles?

"Stiles? Can you tell me what happened, sweetheart?"

Stiles bite his lip as he continued to fidget before responding, "H-he um he tied me up with some rope he had and started cutting me with a knife, I told him to stop but he didn't listen and kept going. After a while I started losing a lot of blood and noticed my wounds weren't healing, so, I tried to get loose from the binds but it just burned and my head started getting all fuzzy and it was hard for me to focus my vision. I safe worded. I screamed it out but Theo just laughed and kept going. He said that I was so smart, figuring out that he laced the ropes with foxglove even though I know he was just playing dumb because I literally screamed that I was safe wording. Still, he kept going and before long I blacked out. I know you would never do something like that but... still..."

Derek growled. How dare that son of a bitch do that to Stiles! You don't just ignore a safe word, who the fuck does that? Worthless abusive asshats like Theo that's fucking who.

The Dom sees Stiles flinch at the threatening sound and notices that the Sub's eyes look a little glassy. Shit.

"Hey, shhh, it's okay baby." Derek soothes as he puts his hand on the nape of Stiles' neck, "I'm not mad at you, I promise. I just hate knowing that that monster did all those things to you. You're my good boy and hearing how much he abused you makes me want to rip his throat out with my teeth."

The comment makes Stiles chuckle softly and Derek squeezes his neck on more time before interlacing their fingers once more. The werefox sighs when their fingers are locked together again.

Stiles bits his lip for a moment before saying, "So uh do I still have to use my safe word?"

"No, we can just use the traffic system. Green for keep going, yellow for slow down, and red for stop. These aren't just strictly for scenes either, Stiles. If you ever feel uncomfortable or on edge for any reason you can use these and if you don't want to say anything out loud then just lift one finger for green two fingers for yellow and three fingers for red. If I'm not there for whatever reason then call me immediately, do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand." Derek smiled at the immediate answer, causing a slash of pink to dust over the Sub's cheeks.

They made it to their destination shortly after. Derek got out of the car and opened the side door for Stiles yet again, causing the werefox to smile shyly at him. He'll never get tired of watching that smile grace the Sub's beautiful features.

"You brought me to a diner?" Stiles asked curiously as he saw the 80s themed diner with neon lights saying Pann's Diner.

"Yeah, but this diner, in particular, is known to have the best curly fries in the entire state of California."

"Oh my god really?! Why have I never heard of this place?!? Curly fries are my life source! Oh god, why did you take me here? I'm going to inhale those heavenly blessing and you'll probably think I'm a slob or something!!"

Derek rolls his eyes fondly at Stiles' rambling and cuts him off by saying, "I won't think you're a slob, Stiles. You should see me eating pizza, I can eat 2 boxes of that in under 10 minutes. Though, I'm pretty sure Isaac will surpass me soon, the pup can eat an entire box by himself in a little over 8 minutes."

"Isaac can- really?"

Derek nods his head as they make their way to the booth near the window. He hasn't been here in a long time but everything still looks the same as it always did whenever Laura would bring him here to 'stop being such a grump'.

"Derek is that you?" Derek turns around to see a woman around her early 50s with bright red glasses wearing a waitress uniform. "I haven't seen you around here in years! How's your sister doing?"

"She's doing well, it's good to see you again Jane." He says with a soft smile. She was the waitress that always served him and Laura whenever they came here and she somehow always knew how to make him feel a little happier after a bad day. He'd missed her.

"Glad to hear that. You look good kid, see you still haven't grown out of the leather jacket faze yet." She says cheerfully before turning her attention to Stiles, "Well aren't you a little cutie. How did Mr. Grumpy Pants over here managed to snatch an adorable thing like you."

Stiles smirks and there's a small spark in his eyes as he says, "Don't know actually. I usually don't let just anyone bask in the glory of my presence, but, I figured he was ok looking."

"I like him. He's a cute little smartass and you're a hot douchebag, you two are perfect for each other." She declares, nudging Derek's shoulder before focusing her attention back on Stiles,"Don't let his cold exterior fool you sweetie, Derek here is nothing but a big marshmallow that doesn't know how to use words."

The comment coaxed a laugh out of Stiles, despite Derek's grumbling.

They soon order an absurd amount of curly fries, a large cup of diabetes Stiles calls an Oreo cheesecake milkshake, another large cup of slightly less diabetes called a strawberry milkshake, and an extra large rib eye steak because Derek is a fucking carnivore.

Once Jane left to get their food Stiles turned to look at Derek with a pensive expression on his face.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Does my answer matter?" Derek asks, knowing Stiles it most likely doesn't.

Stiles tilts his head to the side looking thoughtful as he says, "Probably not."

Derek snorts out a laugh and waits for Stiles to say whatever is on his mind. He doesn't have to wait long.

"So, what's the deal with all your werewolf categories? When I had Scott they told me he was an Alpha/Beta but I have no idea what the hell that means. I tried searching it up but all they gave me was lore and there never seemed to be an exact answer."

"Well as you can tell werewolf categories are genetically formed. An Alpha/Alpha category werewolf is a werewolf that is a born alpha but doesn't gain the status or abilities of an alpha until the age of 18, however, they can transform into their wolf effortlessly at around the age of 7. This is the thing that kick started the whole True Alpha myth back in medieval times when humans didn't know about the supernatural. An Alpha/Beta werewolf is a werewolf that is only able to gain the title of alpha after it has been past down to them by the prior alpha or if the current alpha dies, they can turn into their wolf like Alpha/Alpha's can but not as early and it takes a lot of practice and concentration in order to accomplish it. The Beta category is the most common, they're not as fast or strong as alphas and they can't turn full wolf unless it's the Harvest Moon. The Omega category is the same as Beta's but they have a higher fertility rate."

Their food arrives just after Derek's explanation and Stiles appears to be going over the information in his head while he takes a bite of a curly fry.

"Huh," Stiles says as he stuffs another curly fry in his mouth, "That kind of sounds like the werefox hierarchy."

"There's a werefox hierarchy?" He inquired curiously. He didn't know that.

"Yeah, not many people other than werefoxes know about it since there isn't a lot of us and we usually tend to keep to ourselves when it comes to socializing with other supernaturals. There's the King or Queen depending on their gender that is in charge of all werefox relations. Their kit is the Prince or Princess of the werefoxes and they can only take on the title of King or Queen when they produce a werefox heir. The Hunters are strong and have a particularly good sense of smell. The Scavengers aren't as strong as Hunters are but they have better eyesight. Clearly their abilities also depends on the fox species that they are, so, for example, Fennec foxes have better hearing because of their big ears. So it all depends on a variety of factors but that's the simplest way that I can explain it."

"What category are you?"

Stiles is probably a Scavenger or maybe a Hunter? One can never be too sure.

"Oh, I'm a Prince." He responds nonchalantly as he casually takes a big sip of his milkshake.

Derek almost chokes on a piece of meat. A Prince?!? Is Stiles royalty? What the fuck?!

"You alright there, big guy?" Stiles asks with a small smirk tugging at his lips. The fucker.

"You're a Prince?" Derek asks as he tries to get his heart rate back to normal.

"Yeah? The Stilinski lineage has been the werefox monarchs for centuries, we used to live in the Czecho castle and everything. I don't remember much from before I moved to Beacon Hills, though. Just snippets of memories here and there about my mom but I don't actually remember anything. Psychologists said it was selective amnesia from losing my mom, but, it's not like we did anything that was 'royal' or anything. My mom was the most unladylike queen ever." Stiles finishes with a soft smile.

Derek can see the small hint of sadness in his eyes as he remembers his mother. The alpha can relate to him, that's the same look he gets when he's remembering his family.

"Alright, now it's my turn to ask a question. Why do you have a black Jeep? Most people that have a 6 year old son buy themselves a mini van."

The Sub's smile turns sad once more as he replies, "My mom used to have this old baby blue Jeep. She loved that thing, it was her pride and joy. My dad told her to get a new car but she wouldn't budge. When me and dad moved here he didn't have to heart to throw it away, it was like a piece of her you know? So he kept it in the garage and fixed it up every once in a while. When I turned 16 he gave me the keys and it became my first car. I became obsessed with it, it was my baby. However, when I was 19 the Jeep was too old and run down to fix any more so I had to get a new one. I still wanted to be close to her, so, I got another Jeep. I figured even if it wasn't the same one it will still remind me of her everyday, so yeah, that's why I'm a Jeeps only type of guy."

Derek smiles softly as Stiles explains. It's nice to know that the Sub still has fond memories of his mother, even if his eyes dim a little.

It still takes a lot out of Derek to remember moments before the fire without breaking down, he's glad Stiles can talk about little things like this about his mother without the grief of her absence consuming him. Derek is still working on that. Maybe someday he'll talk about them as easily as Stiles seems to talk about his mom.

They spend a lot of time talking about little things in between eating. Stiles talks about practically growing up at the station and how it's unbelievable that they didn't meet sooner since Derek has been volunteering there since he was 14. Derek talks about minimalistic things like who he thinks is the most badass Disney princess -Mulan obviously, she saved all of China!- and the books he likes to read, he even talks a bit about his family before the fire.

Stiles laughed so hard he did a spit take when Derek talked about the time he walked in on Laura and her husband Eren in the middle of having sex. Having sound and smell proof rooms aren't always such a good thing when you forget to lock the door.

"Oh, shit, sorry about that. You should have warned me, dude. If I wouldn't have turned my head to the side, I would have spit all over you and your fabulous leather jacket!" Stiles screeched as he flailed his limbs as he spoke, causing him to nearly knock over his half empty cavity inducing milkshake.

Derek laughs and looks at the werefox fondly. The Sub is so animated in the way he speaks and expresses himself, Derek finds it oddly endearing. God, he's going soft!!

"Okay so let me get this straight. You're telling me, that your parents met because your mom wanted to yell at the weirdo living in a tent in the woods?" Stiles asks in between laughs, "And his only reasoning for living in a tent was to save money on rent?"

Derek nods as he says, "Yep. Mom thought he was the dumbest person ever, but, then she thought he was pretty funny and they started dating soon after."

"How did your parents meet?" The werewolf asks, actually interested in how they met. The sheriff talks about her on occasion but he's never mentioned how they met.

Stiles smiles so brightly Derek thinks he might go blind.

"My mom and her family went on a vacation to Cali and mom always liked places close to the woods, so, when she heard of Beacon Hills she just had to come check it out. There was a protest that day, I think it was because they were trying to cut down the preserve to expand the town. People where going crazy yelling and throwing things at the deputies that were there, so, mom being the wild child that she was started mimicking them and threw a pinecone at the newest deputy, John Lancaster, and he arrested her on the spot. When her parents bailed her out, she went up to him and pat his cheek before leaving without another word. Of course, he didn't notice the little piece of paper in his pocket with a phone number and the name Claudia Stilinski until he got home. Needless to say he called the number."

Derek can feel his mouth moving, probably trying to formulate words, but he thinks his brain short circuited. He most likely has the dumbest look on his face right now.

Stiles laughs at his reaction and takes another sip of his Oreo cheesecake milkshake. Derek doesn't understand how he still had room in his stomach for more food considering he ate his own bodyweight worth in curly fries.

They keep sharing little stories like that for a while longer as they finish up their drinks. Apparently, when Stiles was in high school he'd go to the station every day during free period and eat all the junk food his dad had in his office while he was on call, Derek doesn't doubt it.

A while later they've finished eating and are given the check. Stiles complains when Derek pulls out his debit card to pay for the food but the Dom simply rolls his eyes and signs the check.

He opens the side door for Stiles once again when they make it to the Camaro.

"You don't have to do that you know, I am perfectly capable of opening a car door without breaking anything." Stiles grumbles as Derek sits down in the driver's seat.

The Dom doesn't know what to say to that, so, he kisses the werefox's cheeks in hopes that it would shut him up. It works. For about 3 minutes.

The Sub starts fidgeting again while biting his lower lip. It's almost like he's trying to keep the words from escaping his mouth.

The alpha rolls his eyes as he says, "Just say it Stiles."

"Okay, I got to know. Why did you adopt the Betas? Don't get me wrong I adore Isaac, he's a little angel, and Erica and Boyd seem awesome even though I don't know them very well, but, you're so young. I mean yah I'm 22 and I have a kid but I got pregnant at 16. You actually adopted all 3 of them, people your age aren't really in a rush to have kids, not yet anyway. So, why?"

"I thought it was the right thing to do given the circumstances. Erica's parents abandoned her because they couldn't pay for her epilepsy. She was 12 when I found her having a seizure in the middle of the street, I couldn't just leave her there. So, I took her in and after she told me what happened with her parents I filled out all the documents making me her legal guardian. I wasn't planning on biting her until she turned 18 but... one day she came from school crying because someone video taped her having a seizure in the middle of class and she wet herself. So, I bit her, her personality did a complete 180 after that but I'm glad she got more self confidence. I've never regretted biting her. Boyd ran away from his home town due to severe bullying and mistreatment from his foster family. It was just the 3 of use for a while until I moved back to Beacon Hills. One of my first cases as a deputy was a report of child abuse against Isaac's father. At the time the pup was around 3 and we found him in a freezer where his father would lock him in whenever he did something wrong. I decided to take him in after he had a mental breakdown talking to the people in the foster care system."

Stiles stares at him for a moment as if contemplating something before giving him a warm smile.

"You're amazing." He announced. The words sounded so earnest that it made Derek's heart skip a beat.

He can feel his cheeks heat up and he makes sure to look straight ahead at the road to make the burning sensation on his face go away. He's probably blushing like a teenage girl right now.

That's just perfect...

 

* * *

  

The ride back to the Stilinski house was for the most part rather quite as Stiles let the events of the evening replay in his head.

It wasn't a heart-stopping _ohmygod my life is a fairytale_ type of the first date, but, it was perfect. They talked for who knows how long about nothing and everything, he got to discover little corks Derek had, like how he scratches his stubble when he's nervous or how he scrunches up his nose a little when he tries to remember something or how he tends to cover his mouth whenever he smiles -which is just dumbest thing to ever happen in the history of ever, his bunny teeth are too adorable to keep hidden!- or the way he automatically tilts his head to the side whenever he hears a loud noise like the nosy puppy he is.

All in all, it was the best date Stiles has ever had, not that he had much experience with dates but still. Not to mention it had curly fries. There should be a law making it mandatory for every first date to include curly fries because honestly, what kind of soulless monster doesn't like curly fries?

Though, Derek didn't put up much of a fight whenever Stiles stoles his curly fries, which is perfectly fine with Stiles but the man needs to appreciate his curly fries more.

If Stiles even so much as suspects that the Dom lets anyone other than him steal his curly fries he's going to rip someone's throat out, with his teeth. His tiny little fox fangs are totally capable of intimidating someone. Even big bad werewolves should fear his small fangs, they are instruments of pain. Much, much pain! Everyone should be afraid, very afraid, of his tiny fangs of torture.

"Alright, time for the _really_ important questions." Stiles randomly announces after a few minutes of comfortable silence pass by, "What's your favorite Disney movie?"

Derek furrows his eyebrows for a moment before saying, "You're kidding right?"

"Derek, I would never kid about Disney." The werefox explains in the most serious voice possible.

"Beauty and the Beast." He mumbles after a few seconds of silence tick by.

Stiles smiles brightly at the answer, he totally called it. Derek can totally relate to Prince Adam they're practically twins, only you know, Derek isn't covered in fur  _all_ the time.

"Why do you keep asking me these things?" The alpha inquired briefly looking away from the road to glance at Stiles.

"What things?"

"Things like my favorite color, or what animal I think is the sexiest, or who would play me if my life were a movie." Derek explains while using the power of his judgy brows to convey just how ridiculous he finds the information.

Stiles shrugs while answering, "Because the important things will come up soon enough, there's no hurry in knowing all the touchy subjects. Besides, it's the little things that matter most, at least in my opinion."

The Dom seems to contemplate the information and makes a soft 'hmm' sound as he mulls it over in his head. A moment later the alpha speaks up again.

"Speaking of little things; why does Scott call you 'mommy'?"

Stiles' heart rate skyrockets. Shit, how did he find out about that? Scott knows not to call him that when other people are around. Fuck fuck fuckity fuck his life!

"I'm not saying it's anything bad!" Derek rushed out almost as soon as Stiles started panicking, "It's just peculiar is all. Most male Subs are still referred to as 'dad' or 'papa' or something of that sort even if they did birth the child in question, so, I'm just curious as to why."

Stiles breathed out a heavy sigh as he sagged into the seat. He's been asking himself the same question from the moment Scott started calling him 'mommy'.

"I... I really don't know. His first word was 'dada' like almost every other kid but then he'd cry in the middle of the night yelling 'mama' and the first time he did that I almost had a panic attack thinking that he wanted Malia and I couldn't give him Malia because she wasn't here anymore, but, when I'd pick him up he'd stop crying and just sniff at my neck and that's when I realized that he was calling for _me_ , not Malia. I was confused as hell at the time and I figured maybe he's just confused and he'll grow out of it. When he wouldn't stop I thought 'well, it's not like this is a bad thing, we'll just have to work around it' so, I taught him to call me 'daddy' whenever other people are around and when it was just the two of use he would call me 'mommy'. It's worked pretty well so far, not even my dad knows that Scott calls me anything other than 'daddy'. How-how did you know?"

"He called you 'mommy' when we mind linked during the Harvest Moon. At first, I thought he meant someone else but the more he talked the more I realized he was referring to _you._ "

"Oh," Stiles said numbly, he can hardly feel anything with his nerves filled up to the rim. He fidgets with his hands as he continues, "It's, um, it's weird right?"

"Some people might think that," he explains calmly, Stiles feels his entire body grow cold, "I think it's adorable."

At the alpha's small confession Stiles feels his cheeks heat up while he smiles so hard it hurts his face. Derek doesn't think he's a weirdo! He even said I was adorable -well, technically he said that Scott calling him 'mommy' was adorable but that totally still counts.

Before long they are standing in the drive way of Stiles' house. Derek once again opens the passenger door for Stiles, much to his annoyance. He's never had someone give him this much attention; it's exhausting... but.. it's actually really nice for a change. So, Stiles doesn't complain.

They walked up to the front porch in silence with their hands intertwined between them. It should feel childish, holding hands like this, but, Stiles finds it surprisingly reassuring. When their hands are interlaced like this it's proof that this isn't a dream, that this is actually happening. It's a great feeling to have.

When they reach the front door, Stiles doesn't open it. They turn to face each other as they both awkwardly shift their feet. Stiles breaks the silence first.

"I uh I had a good time. With you. On the date. That we just finished having. Now."

Derek chuckles softly at his awkward babbling and smiles at him with something very similar to amusement twinkling in his eyes.

"Yeah. Me too." The alpha replies quietly.

They lock eyes after that.

Stiles is instantly captivated by the numerous greens and blues even a few yellows that swirl in the Dom's hazel orbs. _God_ Derek has the most beautiful eyes ever. They look like a majestic forest is hidden inside them. 

The dark lashes surrounding them only making them stand out even more, has Derek always had eyelashes that long? The breath taking orbs seem to be getting bigger and Stiles doesn't know if his body is leaning closer for a better look -like a fucking creeper- or if his eyes are playing tricks on him. Probably both. Derek's entire eye color is probably just his eyes malfunctioning. No one should have such gorgeous eyes. They look like they belong to a unicorn that poops rainbows.

A second later the eyes close and Stiles almost whines at the loss before he feels Derek's lips pressed on his.

Stiles closes his eyes and eagerly returns the kiss. He feels strong arms holding his waist as he loops his arms around the Dom's neck. The kiss was sweet and calm like they had all the time in the world and Stiles practically melted into it.

Derek's lips were warm and soft against his and he feels the arms around his waist tighten when his legs grow weak. He's never had a kiss make him feel so amazing. Sure he'd always enjoyed kissing but he's never experienced one like _this_. He feels safe and warm and his head is getting all fuzzy and Derek's lips must be fucking magical because for once he isn't thinking about 20 different things at the same time.

When they pull back they're both panting. They don't let go of each other as they lock eyes once more.

"Wow." Stiles says breathlessly.

Derek smiles and utters a soft, "Yeah." just as breathless.

"Have you ever had a kiss feel that good?" Stiles inquires after they both get their breath back.

"Not besides this one, no."

At hearing this Stiles' previously blissful smile turns into a teasing smirk.

"Well if kissing feels that great just imagine how mind-blowing our future sex life is going to be."

Inside the house comes a little 'what's sex?' and Stiles can practically hear Scott tilting his head to the side like a confused puppy. The look of complete horror on Derek's face makes Stiles burst out laughing.

The Dom blushes a bright crimson that reached all the way up to his ears and fold his arms in front of his chest with his lips tugged slightly downward.

"Oh my god! Are you pouting?!" Stiles exclaimed as he eyed the werewolf in disbelief.

"No."

The too quick response causes Stiles to smirk triumphantly, "I can hear your heartbeat sourwolf. You're totally pouting."

Derek mumbles something suspiciously like a stubborn 'whatever' that causes Stiles to roll his eyes fondly at the werewolf as he says, "Good night sourwolf."

"Wait!" The werewolf shouts as he grabs onto Stiles' wrist before he can open the door.

Derek seems to get embarrassed for his outburst because a second later the alpha is pulling his hand back like it was burned and his heart rate escalates as the bitter scent of embarrassment hangs in the air.

"I- uh -well," Derek stammers while scratching the back of his neck, "I wanted to give you this."

Stiles doesn't have any idea what the hell 'this' might be as Derek puts his hand back into the pocket of his leather jacket but he definitely wasn't expecting what Derek held in his hand when it immerged from the leather pocket.

It was a Sub-band. An amazing Sub-band that was made up of black beads resembling midnight pearls embroidered with a golden wolf head in the center.

It was beautiful and awesome and thoughtful and it meant Derek _wanted_ _him_. Obviously, Stiles knew Derek wasn't lying about them being mates and his fox made it pretty clear that Derek was his Beloved but deep in the dark corners of his mind, Stiles still thought that Derek was going to change his mind.

Now everything is different. The doubt that was hidden inside him has completely vanished because a Sub-band is a promise. A warning to all other Doms and Switches that he was taken. It's the first step in getting courted, finishing with the collaring ceremony. Stiles has never been courted before, Malia had simply collared him and there wasn't really any type of ceremony, not that Stiles minded back then. However, he always wanted to be courted, to be wooed, to know that he was important and something to be cherished and now it was actually happening. Derek Hale was courting him and everything is so perfect he might cry.

He doesn't cry.

He tackles Derek, almost making the alpha fall to the ground and literally squeals. It was a very manly squeal, though, very manly. It was the epitome definition of a manly squeal. If there was a magazine for manly squeals he'd make the cover page.

The alpha huffed out a small chuckle and instantly returned the embrace.

Stiles let the incredible scent of _Derek_ surround him. Lavender, vanilla, and sandalwood invade his senses as he buries his nose into the werewolf's neck. Derek seems to have the same idea and he rubs his nose against the Sub's neck. However, due to the scent blockers, the alpha isn't able to smell his scent which causes him to make a pitiful whine escape from his throat.

"Gosh, you're such a sap, sourwolf." Stiles says while he pulls away from the embrace, "Don't worry, it's been a month since I last took the scent blocking pill, so, since I won't be taking it again, you can sniff me all you want starting tomorrow."

Derek nods unhappily but lets go of him and helps Stiles put on the Sub-band.

"Good night sourwolf." Stiles says over his shoulder as he opens the front door.

"Good night Stiles." The alpha replies before kissing his lips chastely and walking back to the Camaro.

Stiles' brain might have melted.

It doesn't matter though, because he's too happy to care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys hope you liked the chapter! Can't wait to read all your awesome comments ;3


	9. Mine

Stiles was in the kitchen of his dad's house making dinner while Scott watched some cartoons upstairs. His dad was still at work but he'd get off in an hour or so. Stiles wanted tonight to be perfect, He invited Derek and the betas over for dinner tonight. It's been roughly a week since they started dating and the head honcho wanted to give the shovel talk in person.  
  
Stiles sighed, he had really hoped his dad had outgrown the whole overprotective thing, it's Derek Hale for crying out loud! He's known him since he was 14, plus Derek's a sheriff of the Beacon Hills Supernatural Police Department- Not to mention the Beacon Hills Alpha. The guy's practically the poster child for the perfect werewolf boyfriend- albeit mostly grumpy.  
  
Derek's more than his boyfriend though, he's his Beloved. The one that his fox specifically chose to accept as his. They haven't really done much after their date last week other than text each other whenever they weren't busy and sneaking in a kiss or two when Derek would come to pick up Isaac from school.  
  
Stiles didn't mind though, he likes that Derek isn't rushing him into anything. Most of his relationship with Malia had passed by in a hurried blur of (teenaged hormone filled) sex and trying to stop her from eating people, and Theo... he really shouldn't be thinking about that right now. Stiles shook his head and instead focused on finishing dinner- more like feast..  
  
His dad walked in with a very hungry hellhound on his tail just as Stiles is finishing up in the kitchen.  
  
"You made me corn!" the deputy shouts while Stiles washed his hands.  
  
"I didn't know if you were coming or not but I figured I might as well make some just in case." Stiles explained.  
  
Before he knew it Stiles was being lifted into the air and spun around by an overly excited hellhound.  
  
"I love you I love you I love you I love you-"  
  
"Alright Jordan you can put him down now, we need him alive if we want more food. Besides, it's not that big a deal- he makes you corn all the time," his father said as he tried -and failed- to keep in his laughter.  
  
Jordan stopped twirling Stiles around only to glare at the sheriff, "Not that big of a deal? This darling angel is feeding me!! Feeding me his delicious food! You call that 'no big deal'? Have you no heart heathen?"  
  
"Not when my son is gonna force me to eat overgrown grass while everyone else gets to eat actual food in front of me," the sheriff deadpanned while giving Stiles a deadly glare.  
  
"You have high cholesterol old man! You are eating a salad and you're going to like it!!" Stiles yelled as he stepped out of Jordan's tight embrace.  
  
Before his dad could say anything else, someone rang the doorbell. John went to answer it while Stiles and Jordan swiftly made the table. When the door opened, John was more than a little surprised to see the alpha with a batch of chocolate chip cookies that that appeared to have just popped out of the oven.  
  
Derek smiled brightly as he said, "Good evening, sheriff, I know that Stiles keeps you on a tight diet but I figured if anyone deserves a cheat day it's Sheriff Stilinski."  
  
John schools his features to portray indifference as he ~~snatched~~ calmly took the offered delicacies from the werewolf's hands. He nodded and quickly retreated back into the kitchen that Stiles was busy cleaning up while the werewolves entered.  
  
Stiles instantly glared when he caught sight of the container full of cookies in the sheriff's hands but his dad started speaking before he could get a single word out.  
  
"You are going to marry that man. I don't care what you have to say about this Stiles, you are going to marry him. He has blessed us with cookies. Chocolate chip cookies. My favorite type of cookies. I demand matrimony!!"  
  
The werefox rolled his eyes at his father's antics -and they say he's the dramatic one- and swiftly takes the cookie filled container from the older man's grip.  
  
Once the Sub is convinced his father wasn't going to try to stuff himself with cookies in his absence Stiles makes his way to the living room where Erica stood smirking, Boyd shook his head, Isaac was adorably sniffing everything around him, and Derek isn't even trying to hide how smug he is. Bastard.  
  
Just as he was about to yell at the alpha for bringing sweets with him, Scott came out of nowhere.  
  
"Isaac!" The pup exclaimed as he all but pounced on the curly haired beta.  
  
Scott was in such a rush to get to Isaac he didn't even notice the 3 other werewolves until he pulled back, still giggling at Isaac from when he nuzzled into Scott's neck. The second Scott sees Derek his eyes narrow and he goes full on 'alpha stance' as Stiles likes to call it. His arms tightly folded on his chest as he stands to his full height -which doesn't even reach Derek's hip- with his face set in a stern pout.  
  
"Do you love daddy?" the question takes Stiles by surprise. Derek hasn't said anything like that to him and even though Stiles is 100% certain that he has fallen head over heels for the grumpy alpha; he hasn't said anything to him either.  
  
Derek said they would take it slow and he didn't want to ruin what they have just because he couldn't get a hold of his emotions. When Derek makes eye contact with him, however, Stiles only sees a brief moment of anxiety before the alpha is crouching down to speak to Scott at eye level.  
  
"Yes, I do love him. I love him very much and I want to do everything I can to show him that every single day. He's my gorgeous mate and I'm not planning on ever letting him go."  
  
Scott simply nodded before turning around to face a visibly frozen Stiles as he says, "I approve," and gingerly leads Isaac to the dining room where all the food is set up.  
  
The words cause Stiles to laugh but it comes out more watery than expected. Erica and Boyd disappeared at some point but Stiles can't be bothered to figure out when because Derek Hale just said that he loves him.  
  
Holy shit! Derek -I can make you come in your pants just by looking at me- Hale loves him!! _Him_! Stiles Stilinski, hyperactive spaz and flailing extraordinaire.  
  
Then suddenly Derek is right in front of him. Looking at him with those stupidly beautiful eyes and his sexy stubble and god Stiles wants to kiss him.  
  
So, he does.  
  
They kiss for a long time, simply sliding their lips together with the occasional nip. It's more domestic than anything Stiles has ever experienced but no less passionate. When they pull away they are both panting softly as they rest their foreheads together, relishing their closeness as they look into each other's eyes once more.  
  
"I love you," the words are out of Stiles' mouth before he can stop them but the timid smile he gets from Derek is totally worth it.  
  
"I love you too," Derek replies before he nuzzles his face into Stiles' neck. Ever since Stiles stopped taking the scent blocking pills Derek has made it his mission to scent mark him as much as possible. Stiles complains about Derek manhandling him all the time but he doesn't actually mean it, he likes knowing that Derek wants Stiles to smell like him and it's nice to be scent marked constantly by someone that isn't Scott.  
  
Stiles has even noticed Isaac scent marking him occasionally during class. The little wolf tries to be discreet about it but it's hard to believe that the pup trips over air and demands to be carried only to then rub his face all over Stiles' neck multiple times a day out of pure coincidence.  
  
"come on let's go get food before my dad eats it all," he announced as he nudged the werewolf off of him. Derek grumbled unhappily but followed him to the dining room nonetheless.  
  
Once they came into the dining room everyone was seated and looking as innocent as could be. The little shits were listening in the entire time!  
  
"Well? Aren't you boys going to sit down?" His father asks with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. God dammit.  
  
Stiles takes his seat next to Scott and to the right of his dad where he is currently perched at the head of the table while Derek sits next to Erica directly in front of Stiles. When they are both seated everyone digs in.  
  
Stiles has always hated the fact that his dad would force him to wait until everyone has finished serving themselves before eating, so, he makes sure the food is already served on the table before everyone sits down to eat. He was currently in the process of cutting up Scott's steak when Erica full out _moaned_ after she put the first spoonful of food in her mouth.  
  
All eyes at the table are focused on her as she kept savoring the first bite of her food, "Think whatever you want but this food is delicious. It's the best thing I've ever put in my mouth!" Boyd just gives her a look and she continues, "Okay the _second_ best thing I've ever put in my mouth."  
  
And just like that the room bursts into fits of laughter, all but Derek, who looks nautious.  
  
"We talked about this. I don't know anything about your sex life and you don't know anything about mine," Derek says through gritted teeth as he pinches the bridge of his nose.  
  
Boyd says, "What sex life?" as he quietly continues to eat his food.  
  
Stiles looks up from where he is almost done cutting Isaac's steak -the poor pup was having trouble cutting it on his own- and glares at the dark skinned beta, "I resent that."  
  
The sheriff calmly looks up from where he was previously glaring at his salad and raises his eyebrows at Stiles.  
  
"WE HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING I SWEAR!!" Stiles exclaims as he watches his father in horror.  
  
The sheriff simply turns his head to Derek with a smile way too pleasant to be real, "Alright son, I've got a shit load of guns and a crap ton more of bullets. Wolfsbane bullets. That can kill your furry behind in seconds. I'm also perfectly equipped to make sure no one finds your body, not to mention I have a solid alibi."  
  
Before Stiles could properly scold his dad for the unnecessary shovel talk; the Sub feels someone tug at his shirt and glances down to see Scott looking at him with lost puppy dog eyes. The boy lifts his hand to block the side of his face from the rest of the table as he 'whispers', "Daddy, I think gwampa is going to kill Derek. We've gotta warn him."  
  
Stiles used his hand to shield the side of his face from everyone just like Scott is as he says, "I think Derek already knows."  
  
Scott then turns to Derek and 'whispers', "Derek, my gwampa is going to kill you. Did you know that?"  
  
"Yeah, I did," Derek whispers back as everyone else in the table tries desperately not to laugh.  
  
Scott gives him the most convincing bitch face ever seen on a 6 year old before turning back to Stiles while he says, "He knows gwampa is going to kill him but he isn't running away and moving to Mexico. He must love you an awful lot."  
  
Derek shakes his head at the absurdity of the entire situation before he states, "I appreciate the shovel talk sir but if I can somehow manage to survive Stiles' spastic reactions, I don't think there's much else you could do to me."  
  
Stiles lets out an indignant squawk as his father replies, "Well at least you werewolves don't have to worry about concussions, I've been on the receiving end of Stiles' flailing far too many times."  
  
Stiles is full on glaring at both of them now. How dare they joke about his flailing. His mom used to say his flailing was endearing thank you very much. Derek doesn't even look sorry about it, in fact, the fucker looks smug. Stiles is going to need a shit load of mountain ash.  
  
"It's okay Bambi, I happen to think you're incredibly cute when you flail." Erica purrs while sending him a flirtations wink.  
  
Derek is instantly glaring daggers at Erica as he says, "Are you flirting with my mate?"  
  
Erica doesn't bother answering and simply smirks at Stiles while asking, "Wanna ditch this possessive loser over here and spend the night with a hot werewolf?"  
  
"Boyd! _Your_ mate is flirting with _my_ mate. Are you just going to sit there and do nothing?"  
  
Boyd looked directly at Stiles with the most serious face imaginable, looked him over and said, "Want to have a threesome?"  
  
Stiles had never laughed so hard in his life! He can hear the others around him experiencing the same thing. When everyone finally settled down again Stiles noticed that Derek was brooding and glaring at his now empty plate like it was the source of all his suffering.  
  
"Aww it's alright sourwolf," Stiles cooed, "we can make it a foursome if it makes you feel any better."  
  
Derek looks like he's about to say something but Isaac cuts him off before he can get the words out.  
  
"Stiles I'm confused, what's a treesome? Are you guys having fun without me?" Isaac asked, giving Stiles sad puppy dog eyes that only Scott can rival.  
  
Just as Stiles is about to answer, Scott speaks, "Don't worry Isaac, you don't have to be sad. I'll have a thweesome with you"  
  
The entire room goes crazy. Erica has to lean against Boyd in order for her not to fall of her chair, Boyd is having trouble breathing, Jordan is trying not to choke on the corn he was eating, Derek is _wheezing,_ his dad is holding onto the table for support, Stiles can feel tears falling down his face, and both Scott and Isaac are looking around the table with identical adorably confused expressions.  
  
This was the best family dinner ever.

 

* * *

 

Today’s the day.

 

Today is the day he will finally tell Allison that he likes her. He should have gotten roses. And candy. And maybe written a poem. Yeah, he should have definitely written a poem. Allison looks like she likes poems.  
  
He should go talk to her, he needs to tell her how he feels before someone else does! She's so pretty he can't possibly be the only one that likes her.  
  
Filled with new found determination, Scott walks up to Allison and taps her shoulder. She turns around and smiles at him and Scott suddenly can't breath.

Allison is so pretty.  
  
"Hey Scott!" she said as she continues to smile brightly at him. Scott felt his face heat up, is he getting sick? He should tell mommy he feels sick when they get home.  
  
Right now though, Scott is in recess and he needs to tell Allison that he likes her.  
  
"H-hi Ally, Um I have something to-to tell you... It's umm... really important," Allison nods encouragingly.

Come on just say it already.  
  
"Um, you s-see I k-kind of... sort o-of... well I mean I-I-I... Ireallyreallylikeyou," Scott didn't open his eyes, he doesn't even remember when he closed them but his face was burning up and his heart was beating too fast. Maybe he should tell mommy to take him to the doctor.  
  
When he finally opens his eyes he sees Allison playing with her skirt before she looks up to meet him in the eye.  
  
"Scott, that's really sweet but... I... I don't think of you like that, I mean you're really cute and nice it's just... I like Cora. I'm sorry I just, I like you like family. Are we still friends?" She asked shyly as she tugged at her skirt once more.  
  
Scott didn't even hesitate, "Of course we're still friends. I still like you and I feel a little sad that you don't like me back but I'm not mad that you like someone else. It's not your fault."  
  
Sure, it feels like his heart was ripped into little tiny pieces, but it's not like Allison meant for this to happen. She's too nice.  
  
Allison smiles at him again and pulls him into a hug. It doesn't last very long though, because her teacher called the students back into class. Scott is about to walk back to mommy and tell him that Ally didn't like him back when a mean kid tripped him.  
  
Scott gets up and brushes off some of the grass that got on his jeans when he fell again. Quickly turning around to see the culprit, it doesn't surprise him when he sees Ryder Miller right behind him with a smirk.  
  
He's been making fun of Scott since the first day of school because he's a year younger than everyone in the class. It's not his fault he skipped kindergarten!  
  
"You know she didn't mean it right? She just told you that so you wouldn't feel bad. The only Cora in this school is Cora Woods and she's a 4th grader, there's no way Allison actually likes her. She just didn't want to be seen with a mutt that doesn't even have a pack." The older boy sneered.  
  
Scott knows that Ryder is only saying all this things to make him feel bad, he knows that it's not true. Allison wouldn't do that, plus her heart beat was steady so he knows she was telling the truth. But it still hurts. He's not a mutt. He's not! And he does have a pack, mommy and gwampa are his pack. And Auntie Lydia and Jax are pack too, same as Danny and Allison.  
  
They're pack, not a normal pack like other werewolves have, but they're pack all the same.  
  
Ryder pushes him again. This time, when he had stood up, Ryder pushed him down again. And again. And again. Eventually Scott stops trying to get up.  
  
"Why aren't you doing anything? Can't fight back? You're weak. You're nothing but a runt," The boy taunts.  
  
"Stop it."  
  
"Or what? You're going to go home and cry to your mommy?"  
  
Yes. That's exactly what Scott wants to do, but he can't say that. He'll sound like a baby. Maybe he is a baby. He still sleeps with mommy when he has a bad dream, he still likes to hold mommy's hand, he still sucks his thumb when he's scared, he still cries over silly things.  
  
Like right now. He doesn't know when he started crying but suddenly his cheeks were wet and lip was wobbling . Ryder just laughed sadistically at him and continued to push him. Scott just wants the pain to go away.  
  
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" he hears Danny scream from behind him.  
  
Then suddenly he hears a weird smacking noise that causes him to lift his head from where he was previously staring at the ground.  
  
It's Danny!

He was holding his knuckles and glaring at Ryder -who is trying to stop the blood from coming out of his nose- and Isaac is crouched right beside him trying to get him back on his feet.  
  
"Did you just punch me in the face?!?"  
  
"I guess I knocked one too many brain cells out of your head but considering you thought it was a good idea to bully my friend, you have no actual need for them," Danny retorted, still glaring at Ryder.  
  
Before Ryder could say anything else, mommy appeared.  
  
"Okay, I smell blood. What the hell happened?" He asked as he took in the scene before him.  
  
Ryder spoke first, "That mutt was being mean to me and then his dumb friend punched me for no reason!!" he exclaimed while pointing his finger towards them as he spoke.  
  
The werefox's face turned void of all emotion in a heart beat, uh oh.  
  
"That 'mutt', is my son."  
  
Scott's never seen anyone turn that pale. Ryder has no idea what he's in for.

Nobody messes with our pack.

 

* * *

   
  
"I still don't see why I had to be called out of work to be here," The arrogant women who claims to be the kid's mother announced.  
  
She had black hair tied up in a tight bun with dark cold brown eyes in a crisp business suit. Stiles knew he’d hate her the second she walked through the door of the principle's office.  
  
"Well let's see if you understand this," Stiles said as he met her eyes with a leveled glare, "Your little tyrant has been bullying my pup for months and I've had enough of it. Now, it was either call you down here to discuss the consequences or you receive a package filled with his chopped off body parts. I thought this was the more civil decision, though it was a close call."  
  
The women looked completely outraged and 10 seconds away from strangling him before her eyes land on his sub-band. She raised a thin eyebrow, scoffed and turned  her attention to principal Dermott.  
  
"This submissive clearly doesn't know half the things coming out of his mouth, if his Dom isn't here then this obviously isn't an issue of real importance. I'm a very busy woman Mr.Dermott and I can't be wasting time listening to the  ramblings of a submissive," she explains curtly as she raises from her chair.  
  
"Sit your ass the fuck down," Stiles demands. When she opens her mouth to retort, he flashes his eyes at her and she begrudgingly returns to her seat.  
  
"Listen well,  I don't give a flying fuck who the hell you think you are or what you think you're entitled to. This is an issue that, even if my Dom isn't here at the moment, you're going to sit through until the proper punishments will be given. That demon you call a child has been tormenting my son for months now and I refuse to stand for it any longer,” Stiles breathed harshly.

“ I was hoping that talking to you might fix your son's behavioral issues but I can see that you're just as much of a brat as your kid is. On a different note I am sick and tired of pompous Doms like you treating me like shit so you are going to shut up and fucking listen to me until it's your turn to fucking speak."  
  
Stiles didn't wait for a response as he continued, "Your kid has been bullying my son since the first day of school. Now I don't know how you raise your kid but you're obviously doing something wrong if a 7 year old little boy thinks it's okay to hurt someone, both physically and psychologically, just because they are a year younger than the other kids in the class. The fact that you fail to see the problem with this just proves to me that you clearly aren't qualified to have any jurisdiction on the proper punishment that needs to be given to your child."  
  
The woman rolls her eyes at him and Stiles was this close to slapping her stupid self-important face.  
  
"Keep rolling your eyes. Maybe you'll find a brain back there."  
  
She glares at him as she says, "Who said you had the right to give me that attitude?"  
  
"My attitude is a result of your incompetence and bigot actions, so, if you don't like my attitude change yours," he explains without missing a beat.

Looks like Ms. Miller doesn't like sarcasm very much. Good.  
  
The face she gives him is one of complete hatred, "What? I'm an acquired taste. Don't like me? Acquire some taste," he announces with a shrug.  
  
"How dare you speak to me like this! You- you brat!! You're Dom has obviously not given you proper discipline! If you were my Sub I'd make sure to keep you under a tight leash and away from educated people."  
  
"If you aren't a good enough Dom to handle my sass then you clearly aren't a good enough Dom to handle my ass. Just saying. Also, in order for you to insult me, I would have to value your opinion first. Which I don't, so I suggest you stop wasting your breath."  
  
"YOU NEED A GAG!" She screams, her face twisting into an expression of rage.  
  
"And _you_ need to control your temper."  
  
By this point she's shaking with anger as she turns her head back to Dermott and says, "Are honestly going to just sit behind your desk while one of your employees, a submissive might I add, speaks to me like this?"  
  
This bitch.  
  
"I'm afraid there is nothing I can do, he has complete jurisdiction. Stiles is here because your son harmed his child, I must treat him like I would any other concerned parent. Besides, other than his use of foul language, I don't see anything wrong with the way he is treating you," Principal Dermott announced wearing only the slightest hints of a smirk.  
  
This apparently wasn't the response she was looking for, "This is an outrage! How dare you call yourself a professional if you are just sitting there watching me get disrespected by one of your employees! Someone you hired to educate dozens of children! This is no way for a teacher of any sort to behave, let alone a Sub! You can not just let out of control Subs like him do whatever they want! You have to keep them in their place and not show any favoritism. This is ridiculous, I demand to speak to someone with common sense!"  
  
Before Stiles could give a sarcastic comment about how she's the only person in this room without common sense, the door opens.  
  
"What's going on in here?"  
  
Derek. Thank fuck. Stiles can't deal with this women's crazy anymore. His fox is so close to the surface he's surprised he hasn't snarled at her yet. Why can't she just admit that her kid screwed up and be done with it?  
  
When the werewolf places his hand on the back of his neck Stiles is suddenly very aware of just how tense he has been throughout the entire encounter. The tension doesn't roll off of him at Derek's touch like it usually would though; his fox is too strung up to let his guard down even knowing that his Dom is present.  
  
Unconsciously, he has categorized this women as a threat to Scott and to himself. He can feel his eyes glowing gold as he notices the women's smirk as she eyes Derek up and down. Stiles suddenly feels the urge to tear her apart.  
  
"I take it this Sub is yours?" She asks in disdain, though there is no need to respond, the way she's looking at them makes it obvious she already knows the answer.  
  
Derek nods anyway while he continues to try and make Stiles relax. It isn't working very well, Stiles doesn't want her anywhere near him right now, his fox is growing more agitated by the minute.  
  
"Perfect, now just tell him to apologize to me and we can forget this whole ordeal ever happened."  
  
Stiles didn't even have to look at Derek's face to know he was glaring.  
  
"What," Derek deadpanned. Stiles should really teach him how to use correct punctuation, it's almost like the werewolf has never heard of a question mark.  
  
"I want your Sub to apologize for his horrid behavior toward me. Speaking of which you should really teach him how to address a Dominant properly, he was very disrespectful," She explained, leveling Derek's gaze with a cold glare of her own.  
  
Stiles hardly managed to contain a growl.  
  
"It seems to me like the only one being disrespectful is you. I don't care how you address your own Sub but you have no right to speak to my mate like that, especially since it was your child that caused this entire problem in the first place. Stiles has nothing to apologize for."  
  
The women scuffs, "So you're just going to let your Sub treat his superiors insubordinately?"  
  
"Stiles is _my_ Sub, he is under _my_ care. Just because you're a Dom doesn't mean that Stiles has to treat you any differently than he would treat anyone else under these circumstances.” Derek grunted out.

Derek straightened up and flashed his eyes, “If you are trying to imply that you see yourself as more important than an Alpha's Mate then,” Derek gave her a predatory smile.

“you clearly have forgotten the basic werewolf law book of principles and that'd be just ridiculous really because that would mean you don't attend the mandatory supernatural debriefings held quarterly for all businesses.”

She spluttered out something along the lines of “of course I do”.

Derek gave her a very condescending look, “I'm not saying you don't, I'm saying if you did, you would know that that's a direct insult to my power that can very easily result in me killing you as result of eliminating a ‘threat’ to my mate or as to protect and defend my position. In both cases the law would most certainly be on my side. You are not his superior in anyway and if you're so uptight about conduct then maybe you should teach your child some basic manners. Speaking of which, I'd like to have a talk with this kid of yours. Immediately."  
  
For a brief moment it looked like she's about to object but then seems to think better of it and simply nods her head curtly.  
  
The second the kid sits down on the seat next to his mother Derek crouches down directly in front of him.  
  
"Do you know what you did?" Derek waits for Ryder to shake his head before continuing, "you hurt a member of my pack, the youngest member of my pack actually. Now I can easily rip you a new one out here and now but I won't. Lupa will do it for me, make you suffer. Make you suffer so much you won't remember what not being in pain feels like anymore. Consider this your only warning. But if I hear that you so much as _looked_ at Scott the wrong way again I'll show you just how terrifying werewolves can be," he concludes with a predatory grin that appears just tittering the line of maniacal.  
  
With a brief flash of his red eyes Derek stands again, glancing pointedly at the child's mother before saying, "Your son pissed his pants. Might want to take care of that."  
  
"Did not!"  
  
"Don't even try to lie about it kid, I can smell it," Derek said giving the kid a disproving once over.  
  
Stiles smirked, "So can I."  
  
The room already smells heavily of embarrassment, both from the kid and his mother.  
  
"Let's go Ryder," She commands. Not a moment later, both of them are marching out of the office, the stench of embarrassment following close behind.  
  
"Well that was certainly entertaining," Principal Dermott announces almost immediately after the Millers left.  
  
Stiles doesn't relax when they leave though. He can still hear them, still smell them, his fox wants to kill something.

Preferably Ms. Miller.  
  
They are dismissed from the office after the principal explains that Ryder will be given 2 weeks of in-school suspension and will be expelled from the school if his conduct towards Scott doesn't improve.  
  
Derek leads him out of the office and into the empty break room across the hall. Stiles can feel that his eyes aren't glowing anymore but his fox is still extremely on edge.  
  
"Stiles, you need to calm down baby," and that's all it takes for Stiles to lose it.  
  
"I will NOT calm down! All I want to do is sink my teeth into that bitch's neck and watch the life slip out of her eyes!! How fucking dare she! Implying that this isn't fucking important just because my Dom isn't here, who the fuck does she think she is! I hope karma slaps her in the face before I do! I am strong independent male Sub that need no Dom-"  
  
Derek raises an eyebrow at him but runs his fingers through Stiles hair nonetheless. Stiles practically melts from the sensation -don't judge him Derek's fingers are magical- and doesn't try to resist when Derek pulls him into a warm embrace.  
  
"Stiles you need to breath okay? It's alright. We took care of the situation, it's over. Don't let her get to you. What did she say to put you so on edge anyway?"  
  
"She said that because my Dom wasn't here that this wasn't important. She basically told me that _Scott_ wasn't important and I basically lost my shit. I mean, I might have seemed all calm and collected on the outside but mentally I was killing her. Twice. Very slowly. It's just... foxes aren't like wolves. We aren't pack animals, so, when we have kids they become our whole world. Sure, werewolves are protective of their pups but not on the same level as foxes are of their kits. Scott was 10 months old when I  first let anyone other than myself touch him. And I mean like pinch his cheeks, not hold him, I didn't let anyone hold him until he was almost 2. So when she implied that he was unimportant it was basically her challenging me to a fight,” Stiles whispered.  
  
"Well, we don't have to worry about her anymore. Try not to get so worked up about it, alright baby? It's okay. She's gone now," Derek soothed as he continued to run his fingers through Stiles' hair. The Sub can't hold back the soft chirps escaping his lips at the sensation.  
  
"My mom used to say that when someone annoys you, it takes 43 muscles in your face to frown, but only 4 muscles to extend your arm and bitch slap them."  
  
The comment pulls a surprised laugh from Derek as he states, "Your mother sounds like she was a very wise woman."  
  
Stiles chuckles and whispers a soft "yeah," but doesn't say anything else. His fox slowly relaxing the more Derek continues to pet him and nuzzle him lazily.  
  
Stiles takes a few minutes to simply breath in Derek's calming scent, going almost boneless as Derek keeps massaging his scalp and holding him close. He faintly hears Derek making pleased grumbling noises as they just stay there, basking in the warmth of their embrace.  
  
After a few moments Stiles reluctantly pulls away, "I should go, Lydia is stuck watching over my class plus her own. There's only a few more minutes before the bell rings but I have to at least be there for when the students are getting picked up."  
  
"Alright, I'll wait for you in the parking lot. It's Boyd's turn to pick up Isaac anyway," Derek says, fully intending to turn towards the parking lot once Stiles exits the room.  
  
Only Stiles doesn't leave, instead, he stands there and bites him lip.  
  
"Look Derek... I'm sorry about all of this. I know this is your day off and you wanted to just have a nice lazy day doing nothing and then... and then this happened and you had to drive all the way over here because I couldn't stay calm. I let my instincts get the best of me and because of that I messed up your entire day-"  
  
"Hey, no, none of that Stiles. I mean it. None of this is your fault sweetheart, you have nothing to apologize for," Derek explained as he kissed Stiles' cheek, "now go to your class, I'll be in the parking lot when you're done."  
  
And with that Derek gives him a chaste kiss before heading off in the direction of the back parking lot.

 

* * *

 

Derek was trotting towards the parking lot when he caught sight of Scott sitting under a tree not too far from the school building. It isn't until the Alpha noticed the pup that he smells salt faintly in the air.  
  
Scott's crying.  
  
Before he could think too much about it Derek made his way towards Scott and sat down next to him under the tree.  
  
"You okay?" he asks tentatively. He and Scott haven't really interacted with each other much, so, Derek doesn't want to push the young werewolf into talking about something he's not comfortable sharing with him.  
  
"Yeah," the little boy answers, Derek doesn't even have to hear his heartbeat to notice the lie.  
  
The alpha sighs, "Scott, you don't have to tell me what's wrong but I'd like it if you were honest with me and not insist you're fine when you're clearly not."  
  
Minutes pass by with only Scott's occasional hiccups to fill in the silence between them. Just as Derek starts to think that Scott isn't going to talk anymore, the boy speaks.  
  
"I'm sorry," the words are so soft that if it wasn't for Derek's advanced hearing he probably wouldn't have heard a sound.  
  
"What are you sorry for?" Derek inquired, honestly perplexed by what the little wolf could possibly feel the need to apologize for.  
  
Scott doesn't look at him as he whispers, "for being a runt."  
  
"Why would you think you're a runt?"  
  
"I don't know," Scott says with a shrug, "If I was a better werewolf, then you'd like me more. Everyone in your pack is really strong and stuff... maybe you'd want me in your pack too if I was stronger."  
  
Derek's heart breaks at Scott's confession. He doesn't think he's pack? Hell, he doesn't think Derek likes him? Sure they haven't really spent time together but Derek didn't know the pup felt like he was unwanted.  
  
"None of that now, you're plenty strong Scott and you're not a runt. I don't know why you don't think you're pack, but you are Scott. Me, Erica, Boyd, and Isaac... we all see you as pack now. Oh, and just between you and me, I think your wolf form is really scary looking."  
  
"Really?" Scott says looking up at him with glassy eyes and a tear stained face. Derek tells himself it doesn't make him want to hold the pup close and cuddle him forever.  
  
He settles for running his fingers through the little wolf's hair, "really."  
  
Scott leans into the touch and presses up against Derek's side. They stay like that for a few minutes, Scott letting Derek rub his head as he cuddles closer to the older werewolf. It's nice and Derek can't say he wasn't a little sad when the pup got up and started running towards Stiles.  
  
"Daddy!!" Scott exclaimed as the werefox lifted him up in his arms and instantly started scent marking the little boy.  
  
Derek didn't really know what to do without intruding on their moment so he just stood awkwardly next to the tree.  
  
Luckily Stiles put him out of his misery by making his way towards him with Scott holding his hand as he followed close behind just moments later.  
  
"Hey, thanks for keeping Scott company while I was sending the kids off with their parents. It means a lot to me."  
  
Derek gives a small smile, "Any time. Say, how about the two of you stay over at my house tonight. We can have a pack night and watch movies, plus the betas have been nagging me about when they'll have more of your cooking. Apparently now that they've tasted your food whatever I make tastes like cardboard to them,"  
  
"They've only had my cooking once, that dinner in my dad's house was like 2 weeks ago," Stiles points out as his lips form a playful smirk.  
  
"Exactly. 2 weeks of my cooking being compared to yours and losing every single time. It's exhausting, also, I thought it'd be nice to have the pack together for a while. You and Scott could go home and get everything you need for a one night stay and then we'll meet up at my house."  
  
Stiles instantly turns his attention to Scott as he asks, "What do you think pup? Want to spend a night with the pack?"  
  
The young werewolf seems to contemplate this for a moment before firmly nodding his head. Stiles' face lights up as a dazzling grin makes its way into his features.  
  
"Looks like you'll be having two new members during pack night. I'll see you in... about 2 hours or so?"  
  
"Perfect," Derek declared with a grin that felt like it was going to rip his face in two.  
  
He really hopes this pack night will make Scott realize that he is pack. And if this also gives him an excuse to cuddle Stiles to his heart's content, well, no one needs to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Can't wait to read what you guys think ;)
> 
> D_N: I stayed up till 2AM because i procrastinated polishing up this chapter, be grateful.


	10. Torn Apart

Stiles and Scott found themselves at the Hale house a little after 5, opening the door and walking right on in as instructed prior to their arrival. They were in no way prepared for the sight they came to see once they followed the scent of the pack through the winding corridors to the living room.

In the middle of the cozy looking living room, stood the two teen beta werewolves in their beta forms fighting over what appeared to be an old hand towel, mimicking a game of tug of war. Albeit a very aggressive version of tug of war.

Throughout the scuffle, Derek calmly watched from the stairs as if this was a regular occurrence. Only when their scent wafted up to him did he look up at both Stiles and Scott's bewildered faces, so the alpha smiled.

"There's a full moon tonight. Born wolves tend to have more composure until nightfall but turned wolves get gradually more restless throughout the day." Derek clarified before he kissed the fox's cheek and ruffled the little pup's hair.

Stiles tried not to smile as he saw Scott tentatively lean into the alpha's touch.

He failed.

"Bambi!!"

Not a second later Stiles was being bear hugged by a now significantly less furry Erica, "You finally made it! What took you so long?! You need to make something amazing tonight, I'm starving and it's only 5 in the afternoon!! I'm going to die of hunger! The horror!!" The blonde beta exclaims dramatically, still holding onto Stiles like he was an oversized teddy bear.

"Wow and here I thought you wanted me around because you actually enjoy my company, silly me."

Erica playfully nipped his ear and pulled back enough for him to see her eye rolling at him while still keeping physical contact with him, "Stop being such a baby, you know we only want you for your food."

Stiles laughed, the skip in her heartbeat couldn't have been more obvious.

Boyd soon came over and welcomed Stiles with a loose hug as Erica busied herself by pinching Scott's chubby cheeks, causing the little wolf to giggle.

When Boyd pulled away Stiles looked him over with a calculating look, "I never pictured you as a MakoHaru shipper."

Boyd froze.

"What are you talking about?" the beta asked trying to play it off. His heart was beating at a slightly faster pace and his poster was awkward.

"When you came to pick up Isaac you were muttering about how they were perfect for each other and how they should just have sex already before exiting the car," Stiles elaborated while he made his way to the couch.

Boyd looks at him, completely shocked as he shouts, "I was on the other side of the school when I said that! How did you hear that?"

Stiles shrugs, "Werefoxes have better hearing than werewolves. I don't know by how much exactly but let's just say that if I really wanted to, I wouldn't have a problem hearing a pillow falling six hallways down."

Boyd still doesn't stop looking at him in shock so Stiles just smiles as he says, "It's okay Boyd, Mako and Haru are adorable together. Though, I must admit I'm more of a RinHaru shipper myself but that's mostly because I'm in love with Rin's teeth. _God_ the things I would do just to have Rin Matsuoka bite me."

Derek growls threateningly at that and pulls Stiles closer until the Sub is perched on the alpha's lap.

“Mine.”

"Aww It's okay sourwolf," Stiles cooed as he kissed Derek's nose, "me and Rin are just not meant to be, he's an anime character and I'm a real person, we come from two different worlds. It would never work."

At this Erica perches up, "I didn't know you liked anime babe."

Boyd blushed and pointedly doesn't look at anyone in the room.

"Oh, you're one of those closeted otakus. Oops." Stiles says not sounding the least bit apologetic as he cuddles closer to his Dom when the beta gives him a murderous look.

Derek flashes his eyes briefly before tightening his hold on Stiles and nuzzling the fox's neck.

"You're such a cuddle wolf. I didn't think you'd be into cuddles, but I guess you are. Which is totally okay with me- 1000% okay with me actually. Cuddles are good, I like cuddles, cuddles are nice. Are you purring? No wait, wolves don't purr, do they? You sound like your purring. You're totally purring. That's the most adorable thing ever, you're like a teddy bear. My misiu!" Stiles rambled as he basked in his Dom's affection.

"What's a misheo?" asked Isaac from where he was previously playing with Scott.

"Misiu, pronounced me-shoo. It's Polish for teddy bear."

"Awwwwwwwwwww that's adorable!! Sterek forever! I'm going to write stories about you guys in the AO3, everyone will ship you! _Everyone_!!!!" Erica squealed -hysterically screeched-  as Derek pointedly ignored her and continued to make happy grumbling noises.

For the next few minutes Stiles and Derek kept cuddling on the couch as Isaac and Scott played together on the living room floor accompanied by Erica's coos and squeals while Boyd looked 100% done with the situation and busied himself with his phone.

To anyone else in the room it would appear as if Boyd was watching a YouTube video with his earbuds on but thanks to Stiles' superior hearing he knew that the beta was actually watching Attack on Titan.

If Boyd doesn't ship Eren and Levi together then the Sub will officially lose all respect for him. Those two are made for each other.

All in all it was surprisingly calming to be surrounded by the pack. Foxes typically only feel comfortable expressing this type of closeness with family so growing up Stiles never got to do this after his mom died since his dad was human and didn't have the same need to scent and touch, plus his time consuming job as the Sheriff made it hard for them to see each other for more than a few minutes a day.

Stiles didn't even notice the happy chirps escaping his lips as he nuzzles the alpha's neck. Cuddles with Derek are easily becoming his new favorite thing -aside from sleepy cuddles with Scott- the Dom's scent is unbelievably soothing and Stiles just wants to roll around in it forever.

After a while though the Betas became restless and buzzing with energy, especially Erica and Boyd.

"Derek! Let's play Extreme Frisbee!!" Erica exclaimed while grinning excitedly at the alpha.

"No.”

"WHAT?! Why not!?!?!" The female beta shouted with a look of betrayal displayed on her features.

"Stiles isn't a werewolf and Scott has never played it before. You know how easy it is to get carried away with that game; I don't want anyone to get hurt." Derek explained while somehow pulling Stiles even closer to him. Stiles pouts, just because he isn't a werewolf doesn't mean he can't keep up with them.

"Oh c'mon sourwolf," Stiles says while rolling his eyes at his Dom, "I'm a big boy, I can take it. Besides, Extreme Frisbee sounds like fun."

Derek still doesn't look convinced but nods his head anyway. Stiles hops off the alpha's lap and lets an incredibly enthusiastic Isaac explain to both him and Scott how the game works.

As he listens to the curly haired wolf ramble about the game rules he hears Derek pull Erica and Boyd aside to tell them to "go easy on Stiles."

The Sub smirks, it seems like the wolves never learned to not play against a fox.

They all head outside shortly after Isaac finishes explaining the game to Stiles and Scott. Erica, Boyd, Isaac and Scott all shift into their beta forms while Derek turns full wolf and Stiles shifts into his fox form. When Boyd throws the Frisbee, the game begins.

Stiles runs but makes sure to stay just behind whoever was zeroing in on the Frisbee and just when Erica is to capture the disk with her teeth, Stiles leaps into the air and snatches it right in front of her face. To say she was surprised was an understatement but Stiles didn't spare her so much as a second glance as he sprinted through the preserve.

Within minutes it was clear that Stiles was winning by a landslide and the wolves stopped holding back.

Even with their brute strength advantage, they weren't as lithe and agile as foxes were. Evidently their muscles and frame slowed them down and Stiles would always snatch the plastic disk from everyone when they least expected it, making them think that they could actually beat him before swooping in to take the Frisbee away from their grasps. Stiles was having a blast.

The wolves were growing frustrated and the only one that was not acting like a sore loser was Scott. Stiles and Scott play lots of games to burn energy and the pup loses most of the time. If the pup wanted to win then he had to earn it. Stiles does not take games lightly.

The 5th time Stiles steals the Frisbee away from under Derek's nose the alpha doesn't take it lying down like the other times. He bites down on the plastic disk before the fox has a chance to bolt into the trees and initiates a game of tug of war.

The large wolf is obviously stronger but Stiles isn't going to give up that easily. He got the Frisbee fair and square, he wasn't going to let the alpha take it away from him without a fight.

After minutes of restless tugging the black wolf started to grow impatient when he realized that Stiles wasn't going to give up anytime soon. Derek started shaking his head in an attempt to try and loosen Stiles' grip on the disk but Stiles wasn't haven't any of it.

The fox lied flat of his belly, making it more difficult for the wolf to shake him off. Derek growled in frustration.

Eventually, the alpha decided he was done playing nice. He stood up from his crouched position near the floor to his full height with the Frisbee firmly clasped between his strong fangs, lifting Stiles along with it. The fox dangled in the air but didn't let go of the disk.

In a desperate attempt to make Stiles let go of the Frisbee, Derek shook his head rapidly causing the little fox to finally release his hold on the plastic disk.

Stiles landed on the forest floor but didn't make any move to get up, whimpering softly and his tiny body trembled on the ground.

Derek was by his side in an instant, the Frisbee now forgotten on the floor.

The wolf whined loudly, nuzzling and rubbing his head against Stiles’ body.Licking him as a form of apology while the smell of guilt and anxiety seep out of him as Stiles continues to whimper pitifully on the floor. A moment later golden eyes meet red orbs as the wolf presses their noses together, Stiles' whimpers quiet down as they stare into eachothers eyes.

Then Stiles whacks Derek's nose with his tiny paw causing the large black wolf to sneeze as he rushes through Derek's underbelly and snatches the Frisbee yet again and darts through the preserve once more.

The rest of the game is a series of everyone running around for hours trying to get the Frisbee away from Stiles but ending up empty handed after each attempt. Eventually the wolves start to get slower and less playful throughout the night until they all came to a stop not far from the Hale house.

Why did they stop? The moon is barely at it's peak, they can't be tired already right? They need to play! Maybe they can play another game if they got bored of this one already. Stiles still had a bunch of energy and he wanted to run and play and hunt and play and yip and play some more!

When he made it back to the others everyone was back in their human form except for Scott and Isaac who are too young to fully control their shift during full moons.

Even Derek appeared to be having trouble catching his breath and the man was basically a wall of pure muscle!

"Okay I think that's enough for tonight, let's go back inside before someone collapses from exhaustion," Derek announced.

Derek walked over to him before lifting him up into his arms and made his way towards the house. Stiles didn't feel like changing back into his human form just yet, so, he let Derek carry him while the fox nipped the alpha's ear and pawed his stubbled cheek. He yipped when Derek tried to bite his paw and gnawed Derek's finger in retaliation.

Once they made it inside the house everyone headed towards the bathrooms to take a shower since they were all soaked in sweat.

Hopefully now they'll think twice before underestimating a werefox.

A little while later everyone was freshly showered lounging around in the living room while Stiles got started on dinner. He was just going to make some pasta, nothing fancy, that shouldn't take more than half an hour to prepare.

Within the next 35 minutes Erica was moaning into her plate.

" _Oh my god_ Bambi this is amazing, It tastes like happiness- Italian happiness." Erica proclaimed as she stuffed some more pasta in her mouth.

Stiles can't help feeling a bit warm at her reaction, "It's just pasta." but can't stop the small smile from forming on his lips.

Dinner is fun and full of numerous conversations about a variety of topics. Apparently, back when Derek still lived in New York shortly after adopting Erica and Boyd he nearly burned down the entire kitchen while trying to make rice. Stiles was still trying to decipher whether Derek's face turned red from anger or embarrassment, probably both.

After everyone was done with their food Erica and Boyd went back to the kitchen in order to wash the dishes while Stiles and Derek watched Scott and Isaac as they debated over what movie to watch from their spot on the loveseat.

Once again Derek managed to manhandle Stiles onto his lap as Erica and Boyd came back from dish washing duty, not that Stiles minded. Nope, he didn't mind at all. Not one bit. It felt nice having Derek's arms around him, it made him feel safe and warm.

Isaac and Scott eventually decided on Lilo & Stitch and a comfortable silence settled around the pack as the movie started. It was nice, being part of a pack like this, Stiles felt calm for the first time in a long while.

Derek's scent was wrapped around him like a comfy blanket and as the movie continued Stiles found himself slowly being lulled into a peaceful sleep by his Dom's scent.

Before Stiles could completely surrender himself to the growing darkness around him, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Curious as to who would be texting him at this time Stiles unlocked his phone and looked at the message.

What he saw had all thoughts of sleep leave his mind and a fresh wave of fear curled unpleasantly in his stomach. The message was from an unknown number but there was no mistaking who it was from.

_You will never be good enough for him. He just puts up with you because you're his 'mate'_

Stiles stared at the words in horror as they dig their way into his head. This was from Theo he was sure of it, who else could it possibly be from?

"Stiles? Everything okay, baby?"

The Sub quickly shut off his phone and shoved it back into his pocket before Derek could see the screen. Derek doesn't need to worry about something like this, the alpha is already beating himself up enough as it is for letting Theo get away. Stiles can't do that to him.

"Yeah, just an unknown number." Stiles explained as he snuggled closer to the alpha.

One of the perks of going to school in BHHS where 80% of the student body are walking lie detectors is being able to get ridiculously good at telling half truths.

Derek didn't look completely convinced but didn't say anything as he held him closer and continued to watch the movie.

Stiles tried to turn his attention back on the movie but his thoughts kept wandering over to the text. He knows that Theo was just saying it to mess with him but god dammit it's working!

Derek is so amazing and perfect meanwhile Stiles is broken and annoying. The Sub wouldn't be surprised if the alpha was doing all of this for him as an obligation. Just something he needs to do because Stiles is his mate...

Before long the movie ends and everyone heads over to their rooms. Isaac takes Scott over to the guest room near his room while Derek takes Stiles in the opposite direction.

A moment later Stiles is standing in front of the Dom's bedroom door. He can't help the way the words from the text message creep back into his mind. What if Stiles can't please his alpha? What if Derek realizes just how horrible a Sub he really is and doesn't want to be with him anymore?

No, Derek wouldn't do that. He wouldn't just leave him like that. Derek isn't Theo. But... maybe he'll only stay because Stiles is his mate... not because he actually wants to be with him.

"We don't have to do anything," Derek reassured hurriedly when he smelled Stiles' anxiety, "I wasn't planning on doing anything, promise. We'll get there when both of us are ready."

Now Derek was caressing Stiles' cheek tenderly and looking into his eyes with so much fucking adoration it hurt. The alpha was looking at him like he was the most precious thing in the entire world and it should _not_ make Stiles feel like a swarm of butterflies are dancing in his stomach.

They went inside the room and Stiles was surprised by what he saw.

He was expecting black colored walls with leather furniture and maybe a chandelier. However, the room in front of him was painted a nice dark blue with a king sized bed in the center that had a mountain of comfy pillows stacked on top of it along with a soft looking comforter. The furniture was black and the room was minimalistic but it didn't have the same Alpha-ness that Stiles was picturing in his head.

The only thing that seemed out of the ordinary was a large wooden chest in the front of the bed with a silver lock on it. So _that's_ where Derek keeps the fun stuff.

A few minutes later Stiles emerged from the bathroom wearing soft red pajama bottoms with an old plain black shirt.

Derek was shirtless in the bed with what appeared to be grey pajama pants sticking up from under the covers while he played with his phone. He looked up when Stiles settled next to him on the bed and smiled before putting his phone on the nightstand and pulling Stiles closer.

They shifted until they finally found a comfortable position. Stiles had his leg sprawled over Derek's hip with his head resting on the Dom's chest and arms loosely wrapped around Derek's waist while the alpha had his arms possessive placed on the Sub's back with his face nuzzled on the top of Stiles' head.

“Love you.” the Dom mumbles sounding half asleep as he nuzzles Stiles’ head.

“Love you too, Misiu.”

A few minutes later Stiles was lulled into a peaceful sleep feeling safe and warm with the calm steadiness of his Dom's heartbeat under his ear and the relaxing scent of his Beloved surrounding him.

Maybe everything will be okay.

 

* * *

 

Everything's _not_ okay!

It's been a month since Stiles received that message during pack night and the fox has never been more on edge in his life.

The messages didn't stop. During this month Stiles has been getting no less than 3 messages a day, each one worse than the last. It has gotten to the point where Stiles is afraid to check his phone every time he gets a notification.

He can't help it! Theo could be literally anywhere, every message is sent through a different number, all from varying states and some even from outside the country. Theo has connections, that much is certain, but why bother tormenting Stiles if he's not here to see it? Theo has to be close. He has to be near Beacon Hills.

Stiles needs to tell Derek. This situation has gotten too out of hand to keep it hidden any longer. The alpha might get mad that Stiles didn't come to him sooner but at least he'll finally understand why Stiles is so anxious all the time.

The Dom has been asking Stiles about his strange behavior for a while now and every time the fox changes the subject or simply brushes it off saying it's nothing, Derek smells of anger and frustration and the Sub just wants it to stop. Stiles doesn't want to keep lying to him, he doesn't want to make his Dom mad at him, and he most certainly doesn't want this tension going on between them to continue.

With new found determination Stiles gets off the sofa where he was previously trying to read a book and marches up towards Derek's office.

Boyd and Erica were at the park with Scott and Isaac so Stiles knew they won't be interrupted for a few hours. Stiles doesn't want to leave out a single detail, Derek's been kept in the dark about this for far too long.

Stiles hesitates for a second before taking a deep breath and opening the door to Derek's office. The Dom looks up at him when he enters and raises his eyebrows, but stays quiet.

Stiles bites his lip and fiddles with his fingers before speaking, "U-um I uh there's... there's s-something I need to tell you.”

The alpha makes a movement with his hand, ushering him to go on.

The fox doesn't look him in the eye, "Okay so um basically for the past month or so I've-"

A beep cut Stiles off and for a split second Stiles debated just ignoring it. But maybe if it was from Theo then Stiles could just show it to Derek and explain what's been happening after the alpha reads it.

What he sees shakes Stiles to the core.

It isn't just a message this time, it's a picture with a caption under it. It's a picture of Scott and Isaac playing on the swings in the park with Erica and Boyd sitting on a nearby bench in the background.

_I wouldn't do that if I were you. Wouldn't want your pup getting hurt just because you can't keep your mouth shut would you?_

He threatened Scott... Theo just threatened his pup...

Stiles can't breath. He can feel his hands shaking but all he can do is stand there and look at the picture. Theo just threatened to hurt his little Scott.

"Stiles?"

Derek's voice snaps him out of his daze and the Sub numbly shoves his phone back into his pocket. What is he going to do now?

"What were you going to tell me?" Derek asks but the concern is obvious in his voice.

"Oh, nothing. Just forget about it, it's not that important anyway."

“Stiles,  don't lie to me.”

“I'm not-”

Stiles tries not to flinch when Derek growls and stands up.

"Bullshit!! I don't know what's been going on with you lately but whatever this is Stiles it's definitely not nothing. You've been anxious and jumpy for weeks! But every time I bring it up you just play it off. I've tried to give you space, Stiles, I really have but this has gone too far. You're scared of something I know that much but I don't know of _what_ and it's killing me! Tell me what's wrong Stiles, please. Let me help you! Just- just let me in!"

The desperation on Derek's face almost makes him spit it out but then he thinks about Scott and the words get stuck in his throat.

He can't put his pup in danger.

"I- I can't." Stiles chokes out, silently praying that Derek will understand.

"What do you mean you can't?!"

Stiles openly sobs, shaking his head.

"Stiles, just tell me sweetheart. Tell me what's bothering you so much. I can't help you if I don't know what's going on. This is hurting you, I know it is. You're so on edge all the time and you don't relax even when you're here with the entire pack, it's almost like you're waiting for a bomb to go off at any minute! Please, I don't understand why you can't tell me. Let me help you."

"Derek. I just... I _can't._ "

He can't tell Derek, he just can't. Scott could get hurt if he tells Derek. He can't do that to his pup. Scott is his entire world, if anything happens to him- Stiles wouldn't be able to live with himself! Why doesn't Derek get that?

"Why is it so difficult for you to trust me?!? You're my MATE Stiles- we're supposed to depend on each other when something happens! You've been lying to me for nearly a month!! I've tried to be patient with you, I've tried to get you to confide in me and finally tell me what's going on but there's only so much patient a man can have! If you can't fucking trust me then how the fuck do you expect me to believe you want to be my Sub! Do you even love me? Do you even care about how I feel about you?"

Something inside Stiles shatters.

Derek doesn't think Stiles trusts him. He thinks that Stiles is _choosing_ to lie to him when in reality keeping this away from his Dom is slowly killing him on the inside.

But he can't tell Derek. He can't put Scott in danger; his pup is always going to be his first priority. If telling Derek is going to risk Scott safety then Stiles won't tell Derek... no matter how much he wants to just throw himself into the alpha's arms and tell him everything.

_If you can't fucking trust me then how the fuck do you expect me to believe you want to be my Sub! Do you even love me? Do you even care about how I feel about you?_

The words keep circling around his head and he can't overcome the feeling of emptiness that overtakes him.

Derek doesn't want him... his own fucking Beloved doesn't want him... how pathetic does someone have to be for that to happen?

Stiles knew this would happen. He knew that Derek was too good for him and that the second he screwed up Derek would leave him and find someone better, yet... he still gave it a try.

The Sub thought that maybe everything would be okay, that maybe Derek would actually love him, that maybe he could finally be happy...

He was so stupid.

How could someone like Derek want him? He's a worthless waste of space that shouldn't even be alive. His mom would be alive if it wasn't for him, Malia would be alive if it wasn't for him, his dad would be happy if it wasn't for him, and Derek... Derek would be mated to someone that actually deserves him.

The alpha is still staring at him with red eyes but his face is pale, clearly surprised by what came out of his mouth.

Stiles can't look at him.

He ran, not caring that tears were sliding steadily down his face.

 

* * *

 

It's been two days since Derek and Stiles fought and Derek is miserable.

He hasn't been able to see Stiles at all since that day. Erica keeps telling him to call the Sub but every time Derek is about to press 'call' he remembers the scent of fear, shame, frustration, anger and guilt that fogged up all the air in the room while tears silently fell down the Sub's face.

He did that. He put that look on Stiles' face, that look of utter betrayal and _hurt_!

Derek hurt him! He hurt his mate and he wanted nothing more than to pull Stiles into his arms and tell the little fox that's he's sorry, that he was just frustrated with not knowing what was bothering him so much, that he wasn't mad at Stiles, that he loved him and doesn't want to ever hurt him again...

But then Stiles left.

Derek wanted to go after him but then he got a call from the station about some dead animals found around the Beacon Hills territory that needed to be investigated.

He fucked everything up.

Derek found his mate. His beautiful, smart, amazing mate and he fucking yells at him! He's such a horrible Dom, Stiles deserves so much better than him. He wouldn't be surprised if Stiles never wanted to see him again, just remembering Stiles' expression of complete and utter betrayal is enough to make Derek feel like someone ripped a hole in his chest.

He can't face Stiles, he _can't_! He yelled at him because Stiles didn't tell him what was going on, the Sub will never trust him now.

His phone rings before Derek could make himself feel any worse, maybe he'll get lucky and the station is calling him to work another shift. Derek had the night shift so he didn't have anything to do until 8 p.m. and he definitely doesn't want to be left alone with his thoughts right now.

To his surprise it's Lydia Martin he hears when he answers the call.

"Good morning, Mr. Hale, I was calling to personally invite you to my house later today to formally discuss me and Jackson Whittemore's wedding that we intend to hold tomorrow night. We expect to see you at 2 o'clock sharp."

With that the call ended.

Derek blinked. Usually when someone formally asks for the Alpha of their territory permission for marriage they're not as cold and to the point.

Then again, Lydia Martin is the Beacon Hills Banshee, which holds a good amount of status in the supernatural community. Plus, if everything Stiles said about Lydia is true then Derek should be glad that she called him 3 hours in advance instead of showing up at his door step and dragging him over there herself.

The alpha takes a shower and puts on a pair of jeans with a nice button up. It's not a law anymore that when someone gets married in an Alpha's territory to formally ask for their permission the day before the wedding -usually followed by an invitation if they approve- but it is still seen as the courteous thing to do, so, the least Derek can do is look presentable.

Soon he was parking his Camaro in front of the Martin household where both Lydia and Jackson live with Allison and Danny.

"Alpha Hale, I'm glad you could make it." Jackson announced with a face splitting grin that completely contradicted the smell of anger looming around him.

Maybe he was upset he needed to wear formal attire? That vested suit can't be comfortable.

Plastering a smile on his face, Derek shook Jackson's hand as he returned the greeting. They made their way inside where a very elegant Lydia Martin sat on the edge of the sofa as if it was her throne wearing a blue cocktail dress as her soft fiery curls framed her feminine face perfectly with her glossy lips tugged up into a slight smirk. Derek has never felt more intimidated in his life.

"Please have a seat Mr. Hale."

Once Derek is seated they go over all the traditional practices and within 10 minutes Derek has officially declared his approval over their marriage and formally accepted their invitation for he and the rest of his pack to attend the wedding.

Just as the alpha was about to announce his departure, the front door flew open.

"Lyds I fucking swear if you made me come all the way over here just to put me in that monkey suit one last time before you and Jackie's big day I will post those pictures of you scarfing down pizza all over the internet!"

Fuck his life.

"Stiles!" Lydia exclaimed with a dazzling smile displayed on her face, "why don't you play with the kids and get dinner ready while me and the Alpha have a talk in my office."

"What are you talking a-" Stiles freezes when he spots Derek sitting across in the living room but before anyone could say another word Allison and Danny ran down the stairs and tackled the Sub to the ground.

"UNCLE STILES! WE MISSED YOU!" Allison screamed as she literally climbs Stiles like a tree to get on the werefox's shoulders.

"YEAH WE HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN FOREVER!!!" Danny yelled as Stiles carried him in his arms.

The sight does _not_ make Derek's heart skip it beat. Nope, definitely not.

"You both saw me yesterday at School." Stiles reminded with an annoyed eye roll, although, the bright smile plastered on his face said otherwise.

"Can we go outside and play with puppy? PLEASE!" Pleaded the small girl.

Puppy? Derek didn't know they had a dog.

"Yeah Uncle Stiles, please!!!! Puppy is so cute!! Turn into puppy!!"

Both Jackson and Lydia snickered but Derek was at a complete loss. What the hell was going on?

"Puppy?" The alpha blurted out before he could stop himself.

Stiles flushed as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Yeah um when I first transformed in front of Ally she thought I was a dog so she called me 'puppy' and she's called my fox form that ever since. Then when they adopted Danny he just called me 'puppy' too because Ally said it all the time."

Derek smirked.

"I don't know," he said in an overly pensive voice, "I think you look more like a kitten in your fox form."

The alpha's smirk grew wider when the Sub let out an indignant squawk.

"I am _not_ a kitten! Foxes belong to the taxonomic family Canidae or 'canines' which is divided into two tribes: those related to wolves known as 'Canini' and those related to foxes known 'Vulpini'. So, no, I am not a kitten and I have nothing to do with the feline family thank you very much." Stiles concluded with an annoyed huff, chest puffing up.

"Whatever you say kitten," Derek concluded with a wink.

Then Derek remembered their last encounter and felt his heart drop. The alpha's eyes widened when he realized what he said and instantly turned his attention back to the banshee, fully intending to say his farewells.

However, Lydia Martin seemed to have other ideas.

"Please come with me Mr. Hale, there are many things left to discuss." she demanded as she stood from her spot on the couch and strutted towards the stairs, her fiancé following close behind her in a similar fashion.

When the three of them entered what Derek assumed was the banshee's office the door closed with the sound of a lock resonating through the room.

Lydia's eyes were focused solely on the alpha with the calculating gaze of a predator planning the death of it's prey. Derek found it embarrassingly difficult to look her in the eye.

"Mr. Hale, it's come to my attention that you and Stiles had some sort of falling-out.  Now, I might not know what the two of you fought about but I do know that whatever happened between you two is seriously hurting him."

"He looked fine just now," Derek pointed out, earning a deadly glare thrown in his direction by none other than Jackson Whittemore.

Lydia spoke before Jackson could open his mouth, "You can't honestly think he's unaffected by this. Didn't you notice the way he completely panicked when he saw you?"

Of course he did, how could he not? Stiles' face was devoid of color the second he spotted the Dom. The werefox must be terrified of him... he mate is afraid of him... how horrible does one have to be to accomplish that?

"Stop that," Lydia's voice snapped him out of his trance, "Stiles has had that same look on his face for the past two days, whatever you're thinking, stop it. For some reason both of you are blaming yourselves for what happened but neither of you have the guts to apologize to the other. Knowing Stiles he's probably thinking he's 'unworthy' of you or some shit like that, so, _you_ have to be the one to fix this. I expect this to be fixed in the next 48 hours before you mysteriously go missing."

With that she left the room, leaving a speechless Derek behind with a still glaring Jackson.

"Look, I know that Lydia already threatened you with that 48 hours bullshit but I don't think you understand the severity of the situation. Stiles doesn't like disappointing people, especially people he cares about, so whatever happened between you two is really eating him. He's been tittering the edge of a sub drop ever since your little argument and the only thing keeping him from falling over the edge is Scott. He's more agitated than normal and his sarcasm is more cynical without his usual playful tone. Don't even get me started on how messed up he must be to start blocking his scent again."

Derek's eyes widen, "He's using scent blockers again?"

The alpha tried so hard to not concentrate on his wolf's whining at the thought of his mate using scent blockers again.

"He's not using scent blockers you idiot," Jackson snarled, "He's a werefox, they can block out the scent of their emotions but unlike scent blockers it doesn't take away their base scent. The only reason that Stiles used scent blockers in the first place is because he has to be constantly concentrating on hiding his scent when he wants to block it out and he doesn't have the best concentration with his ADHD. Stiles is not using scent blockers because you specifically told him not to but he doesn't want you to know how he's feeling so he's blocking it out himself."

Derek furrowed his brows in confusion. He never knew werefoxes could do that. Now that he thinks about it, he knows little to nothing about werefoxes, their so rare some people don't even know they exist. Yet, Jackson seems to know a lot about them, however, from what Stiles has said, he and Jackson aren't close at all. More like enemies really.

"You know an awful lot about werefoxes."

Jackson shrugs, "I've known him since we were freshmen in high school, at the time he was a 13 year old brainiac that skipped the 7th and 8th grade. It's not hard to imagine that there were some people that wanted to rough him up a bit. Stiles made sure I didn't fail any of my classes and I made sure that no one messed with him. You tend to learn a lot about a person after you've known them for 9 years."

"The way Stiles talks about you, the two of you seem like the worst of enemies not high school besties." Derek says skeptically.

The beta rolls his eyes before replying, "He's a sarcastic smart ass and I'm a rude asshole, we argue, it's how we work. You might not believe me but I've thought of Stiles as my pack ever since he screamed at me for getting an F on my history exam the first week of school. Stiles cared about me and didn't let my grades drop because he knew I could do better, so in turn, I showed that I cared about him by making sure none of those asshats touched him. So stop being such a fucking coward and talk to him before this gets any worse because I will not let Stiles get hurt even more just because of a stupid fight. It's not your fault you two had a fight Derek. It's your fault if you let him leave because of it."

The beta leaves, soon followed by Derek a moment later.

He needs to talk to Stiles. Lydia and Jackson are right, this can't go on any longer. He and Stiles have already had to deal with enough shit to get to where they are now and Derek isn't going to let everything they went through be for nothing.

The alpha is still upset that Stiles hasn't told him what was going on with him but he can't think about that right now. He has to think about Stiles and how to make it up to him.

When Derek returns to the living room, Stiles is gone.

 

* * *

 

Derek stared at down at the documents in his hands unblinkingly. The alpha was doing the night shift today but he just can't concentrate on work right now.  

After Lydia explained that Stiles basically bolted the second he smelled Derek leave her office the Dom hasn't been able to focus on anything other than Stiles. His mate is avoiding him like the plague and it's all his fault. He was so stupid!

A Dom is supposed to stay calm during stressful situations, it's part of their nature, but _no_ he just had to get frustrated and in that time of frustration he hurt his mate. His sweet, beautiful, perfect mate that has already been through so much in his life.

Every time Derek thinks of his fight with Stiles he feels more and more ashamed for the way he acted, yet, every time he remembers why it happened he can't find it in himself to condemn his feelings of anger and frustration.

He doesn't understand. Stiles was fine until a few weeks ago when he started acting weird, what could cause his Sub to act so strangely all of a sudden?

Stiles became quiet, his smiles became forced, his fidgeting became more frequent, his face became paler, his eyes became almost dull, and his need for physical contact became almost nonexistent. Derek was growing increasingly worried the longer he didn't know what was affecting his mate so much.

And no matter what he did Stiles still wouldn't tell him anything!! It was beyond infuriating! Derek wants to help his mate, comfort him, but Stiles won't tell him anything and it makes him want to pull his hair out!!

Why can't Stiles just still him what's wrong!? Doesn't Stiles trust him? Doesn't Stiles know that all he wants is for his mate to be happy? Doesn't he know how much it pains him to have to see Stiles like that without even knowing what was causing it?!?

Derek pinched the bridge of his nose, he can feel the formation of a headache taking place.

He glances at the clock as it read 8:28, not too late to call.

The call gets picked up after the third ring.

"Hey mom." Derek sighed as he dig through his drawers in search of some Advil to calm his headache.

"I'm sorry who are you?" His mother asked in an overly curious tone.

Great.

Derek mentally groaned, "Mom please don't, I really don't have time for this."

The alpha can here a scuff from the other side of the line.

"I'm sorry but I think you have the wrong person. I can't be your mother; all of my children call often to send me love. Now, I repeat who are you?"

"I'm Derek. Your only son." he deadpanned. His mom is ridiculous.

"Derek? Sorry, doesn't ring a bell.”

" _Mom_! stop it. I know I haven't called in a long time but it's been hectic over here! We still haven't found Theo and there are dead animals being found all around the territory for some reason and Stiles has been acting weird for weeks now and he won't tell me what's wrong and we had a fight the other day and I don't know what to do anymore mama!"

"Derek? Corazon is that you??" She replied sweetly.

"I hate you." Derek growled.

"Hush, you love me. So what is this I hear about you and Stiles having a fight?"

The alpha heaved a long sigh before explaining everything that's happened so far in as much detail as possible knowing that his mom was going to ask for specifics if he didn't. When he finished he waited for his mom to process everything.

He thought of many ways his mom would react to the information, yelling at him wasn't one of them.

"DEREK JASON HALE ARE YOU INSANE?!?"

The alpha was shocked speechless at his mother's outburst.

"Did you honestly yell at Stiles when he refused to tell you what was wrong and then accused him of not trusting you?!?! Really, Derek?! May I remind you that just two months ago that little Sub was being manipulated and abused by a Dom that used every single shred of information he had on Stiles to cause him harm? Because if anyone understands what that little kit is feeling right now it should be you! You need to be patient Derek. You can't rush him-"

"But I've been nothing _but_ patient! It's been two months since he's been anywhere near that asshole; he should understand by now that I would never do that to him!"

"Derek. Listen to what is coming out of your mouth, I know you're worried and frustrated with what's going on with Stiles but you can't take it out on him like that. Do you remember how you were after Kate?"

"Th-that's different." Derek stuttered out.

"No Derek, it's not. Stiles was manipulated and hurt just like you were, clearly not in the same way, but the consensus is similar. After the fire you become more confined, more quiet, and less trusting of others even though you knew that they wouldn't hurt you; Stiles is going through the same thing right now. Him not telling you what's bothering him doesn't mean he doesn't trust you, it just means he needs more time to heal."

"I- I just can't stand to see him like this mom. He's so out of it and the worst part is that he tries to pretend like everything is fine, as if he was okay. He does it with such ease mom it's like... he's used to it..."

"He was being domestically abused for six months without anyone other than his best friend to notice it. I would be concerned if he _wasn't_ good at faking being okay." The older alpha rationalized.

"Still I... I notice it now. Before I didn't really see it but now I do and it kills me every time he does it because I _know_ he's not as okay as he wants everyone to think he is!"

"Just try to be there for him darling. He might not be ready to tell you what's wrong yet but it doesn't mean he doesn't need you. Try comforting him with your actions and don't get angry if he doesn't say anything about what's going on. Be patient corazon, give him time, he'll come around. Everything will be fine." his mom reassured.

"Thanks mom." Derek sighed, a weight being lifted off his shoulders as a small smile formed on his lips.

"No problem. And if you forget to call me again I will personally go to Beacon Hills and kick your ass.”

With that, the call ended and Derek was left feeling lighter than he has in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so before any of you comment you should all know that this chapter was not supposed to be angsty! I wanted to make this a really fluffy chapter but then D_N bullied me into writing it with angst cuz she thinks it's fun to mess with our reader's emotions. So, basically, blame her for this, I am a victim here I swear.
> 
> Hopefully you guys enjoyed it anyway and next chapter smut shall begin. Maybe. It's a possibility.
> 
> P.S. sorry for the late update school started recently and life decided to kick me and D_N's butt so please bare with us okay? I'll try to update as soon as possible (plus D_N is very lazy and likes to procrastinate so if we're late on an update there's a 99.999% chance it's cuz of her)


	11. Closer

Getting ready for Lydia's wedding was hectic to say the least: someone was always trying to style his hair, the other bridesmaids were fussing about their dresses and where their bouquets were, Lydia was surrounded by at least 3 people at all times trying to fluff out her dress or touch up her makeup or re-curl her hair, the room smelled heavy of perfume and hairspray making Stiles want to gag, and he can't even leave the room full of crazed women because ' you're my butler of honor, start fucking acting like it and tell me how pretty I look!'.

So, all in all, Stiles wasn't having the best time getting ready for Lyds and Jackie's big day but that's okay, it's not about him anyway. He'll do anything as long as Lydia and Jackson are happy.

Pretty soon the other bridesmaids leave to get ready for the Procession while Stiles stays behind with Lydia. Her parents felt horrible for having to miss their daughter's wedding but Mr. Martin's company wouldn't let him take the day off since he had to do a presentation for a CEO of some big name company all the way in London and Mrs. Martin had to fly to New York for the week due to a business trip that she couldn't reschedule. Lydia and Jackson tried to move the wedding date so that both her parents could attend but unfortunately, today was the only day available for reservation at the venue they wanted.

Lydia didn't have any other relative that could walk her down the aisle since both her parents don't have any siblings, so, she asked Stiles to do it instead.

"Stop worrying Lyds, everything will go according to plan, don't stress it." Stiles comments when he sees Lydia rearranging her veil for the 10th time in the last minute.

Lydia scoffs, "I am not stressed. My veil was crooked."

Stiles rolls his eyes but stays silent until he sees Lydia reaching up to adjust her veil 2 seconds later. The Sub gently stops her hand and waits for her to look him in the eye before speaking.

"Lydia, you are the most breathtaking bride to ever walk on this earth and Jackson is the luckiest man in the world because he has the honor of being the one you chose to let love you forever. This wedding doesn't change your relationship, it just announces to the world that you two are never going to break apart, so try not to worry about the little things and enjoy the gorgeous wedding you worked so hard to create."

The smile that Lydia sends him makes Stiles feel like he won the lottery. It's a small, shy smile, one that almost never makes an appearance on Lydia's face but it's honest and genuine and it makes her face light up with joy and a delicate softness that is not usually there.

She looks absolutely beautiful.

Lydia glances back to her reflection in the full-length mirror. She's wearing a gorgeous mermaid gown with a sweetheart neckline that is outlined with jewels designed by Sophia Tolli along with a long veil that stops a little above her knees. Her hair is in a stunning half up half down hairstyle that allows her soft amber colored curls to cascade perfectly down her shoulders while her makeup can't be described as anything but elegant.

Jackson is definitely the luckiest man in the world right now.

"My lady," Stiles says giving a small bow and extending his arm out to Lydia.

She smiles as she does a curtsy before linking both their arms together and walking out of the room.

When the large double doors open for them to start walking down the aisle Stiles is instantly hit with a feeling of dizziness and the beginnings of a headache forming. He quickly shakes it off and continues to walk with Lydia.

The ceremony was flawless. Allison was the cutest flower girl imaginable, Scott and Danny didn't trip when they both handed the rings over to Jackson and Lydia, Jackson was crying by the end of Lydia's vows while the banshee smiled joyfully the entire time, and Stiles could actually concentrate on Lydia and Jackson instead of a certain broody alpha's eyes that seemed to be constantly on him as well as his pack's.

Soon it was time for the reception and everyone flooded over to the elegantly decorated booths to get food. When Stiles is finally seated back at the bridal table after loading his plate to its full capacity he notices Danny glaring down at his food like it personally offended him.

"What's wrong little dude? you look like you want your food to magically burst into flames."

"There is no pumpkin juice.... How can I eat food without PUMPKIN JUICE!?!?! What do they think I am a _bloodthirsty_ _heathen_!? I demand an explanation for this monstrosity!!" Danny declared as he continued to glare at his food as if it was the source of all his suffering.

Stiles chuckled and leaned down to whisper in the little boy's ear, "Danny, you have to remember that the people who made this are muggles, they don't know any better. We can't blame them for their ignorance."

Danny mumbles something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like 'stupid muggles and their bloody ignorance of wizard customs'

Stiles laughs, almost knocking over his drink in the process.

"Hey, Uncle Stiles," the boy sitting next to him says after Stiles' laugh attack slowly starts to fade away, "when you marry Alpha Derek are you going to have pumpkin juice at your wedding?"

Stiles' good mood instantly disappears. He almost forgot that the alpha was here, attending the wedding like everyone else. Almost.

He somehow managed to keep the bile down his throat at the thought of what happened the last time he and Derek were in the same room together. The way Derek had teased him was pretty damn flirtatious and then he fucking winked at him! _Winked_!!! Stiles thought that maybe Derek had forgiven him, that maybe Derek still wanted him, that maybe the fight had just been the result of frustration instead of actual anger toward him.

Then Derek turned away from him like he wasn't even there, like he wasn't important anymore- like Derek didn't care. Stiles felt like something broke inside of him all over again. Derek still didn't want him and he were still mad at him if the way his scent changed from surprised to angry in 0.2 seconds.

Stiles knew it was way too good to be true.

Still, he nodded at Danny's question before getting up to excuse himself. His head was pounding excruciatingly and the dizziness was only getting worse, not to mention that his senses were going haywire. Stiles felt like he was submerged under water, everything getting more and more contorted the longer he stayed in the building.

He was almost to the gardens when a random hand came out of nowhere and yanked him towards to opposite direction, causing him to stumble into what appeared to be a dark storage room.

"Hey Stiles, missed me?"

Fuck. Fuck, fuck fuckity fuck fuck fuck.

Stiles knows that  voice- hears it all the time as it taunts him. He is so fucking screwed.

"What are you doing here Theo?" he says through gritted teeth, forcing his voice to sound even and unaffected. He failed miserably.

"Enjoying the wedding of course," Theo smirked, "and might I say that was a lovely ceremony, very touching, my favorite part was that you were avoiding Alpha Hale's gaze like the plague. What's the matter, finally realized that Hale was only staying with you out of pity?"

"How did I not sense you?" Stiles says, choosing to ignore the comment about Derek entirely. Doesn't make it hurt any less.

"Oh? Didn't you notice my little gift? I put some foxglove in the air vents, for old times sake.  A little sentimental of me, I know but I just couldn't resist. You always looked unresistable when you're surprised."

Fuck, if the foxglove has been in the air vents the whole time then he probably only has a couple of minutes left before he gets blood poisoning.

"Shit."

"That's right Stiles, you are shit." Theo announces with a pleasant smile on his face.

Stiles wants to punch him in his stupid face.

"Tell me, Stiles, is finally having someone that wants your worthless ass everything you dreamed it would be? Or is it as disappointing as I knew it would be? Since the only reason he wants you is because of your his 'mate'? I feel sorry for him really, having to live the rest of his life bonded to a piece of shit like you. Has he fucked you yet? Or is he so repulsed by you that he can't stand to think of having you in bed? Did Hale even make a contract with you?"

Stiles doesn't answer, too many thoughts flooding his head for his mouth to string up a coherent sentence.

Theo laughs, "I knew it!! Hale didn't even make a contract with your sorry ass! This is fucking _priceless_ !! You see Stiles, I told you no one would want something like you, not even your fucking _mate_! How much of a failure in life do you have to be in order to accomplish something like that? And Hale doesn't even like guys, every single person he's ever slept with has had a vagina and boobs, I wouldn't be surprised he feels absolutely disgusted by the thought of having sex with you. So, why don't you do everyone a favor Stiles? Go die."

Just like that, he was gone.

Stiles wanted to run after him, chase him down until the authorities come and take the idiotic bastard away for good. But he can't. He can't move, he can't think, he can hardly _breathe_ as he stands there frozen where Theo had previously been pinning him up against the wall.

He knows he's having a panic attack but he can't push it down. His heart is beating a thousand miles a minute, his entire body is shaking, his chest feels like there's a fucking elephant trying to crush it, his breaths are nothing more than short gasped that continually cause him to choke even more, and he feels like he's being drenched in ice water as his vision swims.

_He can't fucking breathe!_

 

* * *

 

Derek is worried. He noticed Stiles walking towards the gardens for some reason about 10 minutes ago and the Sub hasn't come back. It could just be nothing but his wolf is anxious and ready to rip someone's throat out at a moments notice so Derek knows there must be something wrong. _Really_ wrong.

The alpha quickly goes to search for the werefox and eventually stumbles upon a door completely secluded from the rest of the venue that smells of paint, cleaning supplies, old wood, and... _Theo_.

Derek flings the door open and is struck by the scent of fear, guilt, despair, anxiety, and hurt. Derek can see Stiles' body doubled over against the wall with tears falling down his face as he trembled on the cold floor gasping for air.

Derek is kneeling next to him in an instant.

"Stiles, baby come on, breathe for me sweetheart." The Dom says gently as he took one of Stiles' hands and placed it right above his heart while Derek placed his other hand on the nape of Stiles' neck, squeezing it softly as Stiles leaned into the touch.

The werefox tries to control his breathing but failed miserably as his sharp breaths get caught in his throat, causing him to choke.

"Breathe with me baby, you can get through this okay, I'm so proud of you Stiles. You're doing so good for me sweetheart. In, then out."

Stiles takes a shaky breath.

"That's it. There you go baby, can you do that again for me? Deep breaths sweetheart."

Derek doesn't know how much time had passed since he walked into the room but, eventually, Stiles regained control of his breathing. The Sub looked exhausted and the tremors wracking through his body refused to cease.

The Dom carefully rearranged Stiles until the werefox was on his lap with his head buried in the crook of Derek's neck as the alpha rubs soothing circles along the Sub's back.

"How are you feeling sweetheart?" Derek asks once Stiles starts to calm down.

The Sub doesn't move from his position as he answers, "Tired, kind of sore... cold.. but... hot at the same time... really dizzy."

Derek hummed as he continued to rub Stiles' back. The fatigue, soreness, and dizziness are all pretty common aftereffects of panic attacks but the sensation of being both hot and cold at the same time are usually linked with fevers- not panic attacks.

"Do you always feel that way after a panic attack?"

Stiles shakes his head, "Just tired and sore... other ones aren't from the panic attack."

"Then what else caused those symptoms baby?" Derek inquired as he tried to think about other things that could have caused Stiles to feel that way, "Wait, werefoxes can't get sick, can they?" His voices suddenly filled with anxiety.

Derek didn't know that werefoxes could get sick, he thought they were immune to those types of things like werewolves were! Jesus, he's such an idiot, how could he not know that his mate could get sick? He's the horrible person, how could he not know something like that about his Sub?!

"Can't get sick. Blood poisoning."

Derek froze, "How did you get blood poisoning?" he asked in the calmest voice he could manage, desperate to keep the growl from his voice.

"Theo put foxglove in the air vents. I've been breathing it in since the ceremony without realizing. It'll take a few hours to get out of my system." Stiles murmured.

The Dom gently helped Stiles stand up, allowing the fox to lean into him as he wrapped his arm around the Sub's waist.

"Come on, we're going home."

"I'm sorry." Stiles whispered as a whine escaped his lips.

Derek kissed the top of his head, "What could you possibly be sorry for? You haven't done anything wrong baby."

Stiles whimpered, "Sorry. So sorry Der... for- for everything. I'm so sorry."

"Shhh, it's okay sweetheart. It's okay, I got you. We can talk more when we get home alright? Let's just get you out of here before your symptoms get worse okay, baby?"

Derek waits for the Sub to slowly nod his head before swiftly guiding the fox back to the Camaro. By now the wedding was in full swing and everyone was enjoying themselves on the dance floor, too preoccupied with having a good time to pay them any mind as they left the scene.

Derek could make out the silhouettes of Erica and Boyd on the dance floor in the distance while Isaac seemed to be having an animated conversation with both Danny and Scott not too far away from them.

The Alpha will have to inform Boyd to take the pups out for ice cream or something after the party in order to give Stiles a bit more time to rest before the others arrive at the Hale house. Looks like it's time for another pack night.

Derek makes sure to call John the second Stiles is safely inside the car. He explains that Theo was at the wedding and filled the air vents with Foxglove and seemed to have been waiting in one of the scent concealing rooms scattered around the venue to make sure no one detected his scent until he was able to get a hold of Stiles.

To say the sheriff was furious was an understatement. The entire department has been searching high and low for any sign of Raeken in Beacon Hills but it's as if the werewolf had disappeared into thin air. They even have deputies from all over the country searching for clues of Theo's whereabouts in case he is hiding in another state. This encounter proves that he's still in Beacon Hills, or at least near Beacon Hills, which means he's been hiding right under their noses the entire time!

The sheriff ends the call telling Derek to take care of Stiles and that he'll get his Parrish and some other top deputies to see if they can track down Theo. Derek really wants to go after that bastard but gets in the Camaro and drives home instead.

Stiles is his top priority right now.

The drive back to the house was silent for the most part aside from Derek's whispered praise. Stiles doesn't appear to be having a sub drop but after an encounter like that with than other than Theo Raeken, Derek isn't going to take any chances. Nonetheless, Stiles is still trembling with unfocused eyes and what appears to be the beginnings of a high fever causing Derek to grow more anxious with every passing minute that he doesn't have the fox in his arms.

After what feels like an eternity, they finally arrive at the Hale house. Derek quickly exits the car and all but drags Stiles up the stairs and into the bedroom. His wolf is so on edge at the sight of his mate being hurt, begging to comfort and provide and take care of his beautiful Sub and just make him feel _safe_ again.

Derek takes one look at the quivering werefox, taking in the cold sweat that covers his extremely pale face and flushed cheeks before quickly making his way towards the master bathroom and setting up the tub.

The werewolf waits for the water to fill up two-thirds of the tub while simultaneously making sure the temperature is warm before getting the foaming bath liquid from the vanity.

Once the bath was set Derek turns around to face Stiles where he had been sitting quietly on the toilet lid.

"Stand up baby, we got to get you out of that suit so you can get cleaned up." he explained while gently running his fingers through the Sub's hair.

The werefox stood wordlessly, leaning heavily into his touch as he let Derek help take off his suit before carefully lowering himself into the warm bubble filled tub.

The warmth from the water felt amazing on his sweat covered skin and he instantly felt better than he did just a few seconds ago.

Stiles let Derek do most of the work cleaning him, relishing the Dom's gentle touch and smooth caresses along his skin. Stiles never wanted this to end.

"Do you want me to wash your hair sweetheart?" Derek asked as he gently massaged the werefox's shoulders.

"Fuck yes." Stiles mumbled as his eyes fluttered closed, allowing himself to get lost in the sensation of Derek massaging him. The man should be a masseuse, like, seriously, his fingers are fucking magical.

Before long, Derek's fingers were carefully massaging his scalp with some non-scented shampoo and Stiles was pretty sure he was flying on cloud 9.

"Has anyone ever told you that your fingers are magical? 'cause they are... there's gotta be some Harry Potter shit going on here, nobody's fingers should be this talented... fuck, how are you even _real_?"

Derek feels the tip of his ears burning at his mate's praise, no one's ever complimented him for anything other than his looks, even when he used to hook up with a random Sub or Switch they'd never commented on anything more than his physical appearance. It was nice to know that Stiles appreciated more than just his physique; it made his wolf purr in approval and a warm feeling to blossom through his chest.

Once the werewolf finished rinsing off Stiles' hair he swiftly got a soft large blue towel for Stiles to dry himself off before heading into the bedroom in search of some comfortable clothes that would fit Stiles.

Eventually, he found a pair of gray sweatpants that are a bit small on him along with an old dark blue t-shirt that would fit Stiles' smaller frame. He folded the clothes neatly on top of the vanity for Stiles to change into once he was done drying off and quickly changed into a pair of black sweatpants and a gray shirt that didn't cling to his skin.

Stiles emerged from the bathroom with the gray sweats slung low on his waist as the material slightly pooled over his ankles and the blue t-shirt looking just a tad bit too large around the shoulders. The fox was practically swimming in Derek's scent and the alpha just wanted to go over there and scent mark the fuck out of him until their scents were so intermingled that no one would be able to distinguish which scent belonged to which.

Just moments later they were both on the bed with the blanket tuck snugly around them while Stiles' head was laying on top of Derek's chest as the alpha drew little patterns along the Sub's back.

"How are you feeling?" Derek asked looking down at Stiles with a tender expression on his face. The werefox's cheeks were still flushed pink and his skin was burning up but he wasn't sweating anymore, so, Derek considers it progress.

"Better... I'm not dizzy anymore and I don't feel as sleepy as I used to. I still feel cold and hot, though."

"That's good, I'm glad you're feeling better." the alpha comments before pressing a soft kiss against Stiles' temple.

Moments pass with Derek perfectly content to simply nose along Stiles' neck before the Dom speaks up again, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that the other day. I just- I hate knowing that you're upset and not be able to do anything about it. I was frustrated with myself because I couldn't do anything to help and I took it out on you. I'm sorry baby, but, it was killing me to see you like that. And you wouldn't even tell me what was wrong! I thought- I thought that I was doing something wrong, that I did something to make you think you couldn't tell me..."

"No, Derek that's not it at all! You didn't do anything wrong it-it's..." Stiles sighs before continuing, "Theo started sending me text messages about a month ago... He sent the first one when we were watching Lilo & Stitch during our first pack night. I didn't tell you anything because I thought it was just a one-time thing; but then I started getting them every day, _multiple_ times a day and I didn't know what to do. I tried to track the number but every time he'd send a text it was from a different phone, in a different state or country, with no pattern or association to one another whatsoever!! It was frustrating and scary and I was always waiting for my phone to buzz and see another horrid message on my lock screen and I hated every minute of it! It was like Theo was getting into my head all over again and my brain would never shut up and I always felt like someone was watching me and I just wanted everything to _go_ _away_!"

The smell of salt slightly tinted the air and Derek knew that the werefox was trying to hold back his tears.

Stiles sniffled and hid his face in the crook of Derek's neck, "I was going to tell you a few days ago when I walked into your office but just when I was about to explain everything, my phone vibrated. I wasn't going to look at it but then I thought that if it was from Theo then maybe I could just show it to you first before telling you, then I saw the message and all the words got caught in my throat. It was a picture of Scott playing with Isaac in the playground and he said that if I told you then Scott would get hurt. I couldn't tell you. I couldn't, Scott is everything to me if he got hurt because of me I wouldn't be able to live with myself. And Isaac, Boyd, and Erica were there too, Scott wasn't the only one Theo was threatening, I can't let the people I care about get hurt because of me... not again..."

"Shhh, it's okay sweetheart. Nothing is going to happen to Scott. I won't let it happen, he's as much my pup as Isaac is and I would rather die than see them get hurt. I promise to do everything in my power to keep you, Scott, Isaac, Erica, and Boyd safe from any kind of danger, but, I can't do that if I don't know what the problem is." Derek gently lifted Stiles' head up until their eyes met, "Next time something is bothering you, even if you think it's nothing, make sure to tell me, okay, baby? And if Raeken texts you again I want you to tell me immediately. I'm here for you sweetheart, you don't have to deal with these things on your own anymore."

The alpha rubbed his thumb over Stiles' cheek and for a moment he thought that the tears the werefox had been trying so hard to keep from spilling over were going to cascade down his face. Instead, Stiles sniffled and looked up at Derek with a small, loving smile that made Derek's heart race at the sight of it.

"You don't have to do the whole Big Bad Protective Alpha Werewolf act on me Der. I know you're just a fluffy overgrown puppy under that brooding exterior," Stiles grinned cheekily before gently bumping his nose with Derek's, "My _misiu._ "

Derek rolled his eyes fondly at the Sub's antics, "You're incorrigible."

"Shut up, you love it."

"No, I love _you._ " Derek corrected as he slowly leaned forward until finally both their lips meet in a heartfelt kiss.

Stiles looked at Derek through hooded eyes when they eventually pulled apart, "God I missed this. I missed _you_ . I thought I lost this forever, lost you forever. _Jesus,_ don't ever leave me." The werefox nuzzled Derek's neck as a whimper clawed it's way through his throat, "Please."

Derek furrowed his brows in confusion, "Why on earth do you think I'd leave you?"

"Just thoughts..." Stiles mumbled as he continued to nuzzle into the alpha's neck.

"And since when have you been having these thoughts?"

Stiles shrugs, "Dunno..."

The alpha gently combed his fingers through Stiles' hair, "If something is bothering you, please tell me, sweetheart."

Minutes pass without Stiles making a single sound. Derek simply continues to pet Stiles' hair, not wanting to make the Sub feel pressured to speak.

"Theo said the only reason you want me is because I'm your mate, not because you actually like me. He'd say things like ' you're not good enough for him' or 'your not stupid enough to think he actually cares about you, right?' or ' you're so pathetic not even your mate wants you'... I tried not to listen to him at first but then.. then I started getting all these stupid ideas in my head and I couldn't stop thinking about it even if I wanted to. And I wanted to tell you, I swear, I wanted to tell you everything but I was so scared that you'd say that it was all true and you only kept me around because you felt obligated to and I just couldn't do it!"

"Hey, no, it's okay sweetheart. Listen to my heartbeat Stiles, are you listening?" Stiles nods, "I don't want you because you're my mate, I want you because you're _you_. I was already in love with you before I even knew you were my mate! I'm not with you because of an obligation, sweetheart, I'm with you because I love you. Mate or not I would still be in love with you Stiles. I love you so much, baby."

"Why?" Stiles whispered.

"What?"

"Why do you love me? I don't get it... I'm not...anything special." the werefox sighed, silently sniffling into Derek's neck.

"Stiles, look at me." Derek waited until Stiles was looking at him through dark lashes before continuing, "I love you. I love how you bite your lower lip when you're concentrating, I love how you talk with your hands, I love how you're sarcastic all the time, I love how you care about everyone more than yourself, I love how you look so happy when someone puts a curly fry in front of you, I love how you and Scott fit so perfectly into the pack, I love how you can make anyone laugh, I love how you're silly and ridiculous all the time but don't care about what people think of you, and... I love how you make me feel like I'm worth something."

"What the fuck are you talking about Der, of course, you're worth something! You mean everything to me! You're sweet and funny and nice and kind of an asshole -but I like it- and a secret nerd when it comes to history and you have bunny teeth that can literally put puppies out of business because of how utterly adorable they are and the most beautiful eyes ever and the most amazing personality that has walked this earth. So don't you dare tell me that you aren't worth something because you are worth more than all the riches in the universe to me and I will not allow you to think otherwise."

Derek smiles, one of those timid smiles where he shows his bunny teeth but tries to cover it up by looking down, and Stiles is pretty sure he's melting because _Jesus_ _Christ_ Derek has no idea what that smile does to him.

Then Derek rubs their noses together and Stiles _knows_ he has the goofiest, sappiest smile on his face as he looks up at the Dom.

"Stiles, what would you say to me if I told you that I thought I wasn't good enough for you, or, that I didn't think I was anything special?" The alpha inquiries while nosing Stiles' cheek.

"I'd tell you to stop being an idiot. You're perfect, and I love you"

Derek pulls back to look Stiles in the eye, their face so close to each other that their noses are just centimeters apart, "Then stop being an idiot. You're perfect, and I love you"

Stiles doesn't know who moved in first, but just seconds later, the gap between them was closed as their lips met in a passionate kiss. It was slow but conveyed everything they wanted to say to each other perfectly. All the desperation and longing and love that they have both been feeling were being showcased in this one simple action. It felt like being laid bare in front of each other for the first time, both not wanting to hold anything back anymore.

For the first time in nearly a month, Stiles felt like he could breathe again.

 

* * *

 

_Hey, boss, we're here! Alone time with Bambi has officially ended!!! We bring Chinese food and hungry children that demand to be fed. Speaking of which, Scott, Isaac, Danny, and Allison are all ruthless heathens that have no self-control when ice cream is in the equation. Those little monsters are vicious!!!_

_Shut up Erica, sleeping_

_Not anymore you're not. Wakey wakey sleeping broody you have pups to feed_

_Leave me alone_

_Nope. Either you come to the living room or I'm going to break down your door and drag you_

_Don’t even think about it. I will bite you_

_Awwwwww that's cute, you think you have a choice. You and Bambi better be down here in 5 minutes or I'm going to scream bloody murder_

_I won't hear you. Sound proof remember_

_But Bambi will. You've got 5 minutes._

 

Derek groaned. Why does no one in this house understand the blissful essence that is sleep? Isaac wakes up at the ass crack of dawn because the pup is literally the embodiment of the sunshine which makes him the happiest morning person to ever exist, Erica is a fucking tornado of energy the second she washes her face, and Boyd is up and running at 5 in the morning every single day like it's the most natural thing in the world.

Why must he have a pack full of morning people? It's disgusting. Sleep good. Morning bad. It's the circle of life, why can't they understand that?

The alpha tries to get up from the bed but fails miserable due to having Stiles clinging to him like a touch starved octopus. It's incredibly endearing.

After a few more failed attempts the alpha thinks 'fuck it' and manually detaches Stiles' sprawled limbs off of him. Of course, this also causes Stiles to stir awake.

"Nurrr. Pillow, come back." the werefox whines as he aimlessly moves his arm around in search of Derek while keeping his eyes closed.

Derek chuckles softly at the sight before pressing a kiss to Stiles' temple, "I'm right here, baby. The pack just arrived so we have to go downstairs soon before Erica breaks down the door."

Stiles makes a disgruntled noise but mumbles a barely audible 'fine' before stretching his limbs and opening his eyes.

"What time is it?" Stiles asks while trying to stifle a yawn.

Derek glances at the alarm on the nightstand, "6:23 P.M. Good thing the wedding was in morning."

"Yeah, Lydia didn't want to have people driving home drunk at midnight, especially with kids at the party. Plus she wanted to start her honeymoon as soon as possible. She and Jackie should be well on their way to Bora Bora right now." Stiles explained as he got up from the bed.

"SHIT!!" the werefox exclaimed.

"What is it?" Derek asked, alarm as to what might have caused Stiles to have such an outburst.

"I was supposed to take care of Allison and Danny for a week while they were off having sex like bunnies on their exotic honeymoon!! Crap I completely forgot about it. I'm so sorry Der, but, I have to go before Lydia finds out I forgot and fucking kills me in my sleep."

"Allison and Danny are in the living room." Derek announces when the Sub looks like he was about to bolt through the door.

"What?"

"Allison and Danny. They're here. In the living room. With the Betas. Waiting for us to go downstairs" Derek explains slowly- as if he was talking to a toddler.

"What? Are they here? And... you let them? But... why?" Stiles asks, completely bewildered by the information. Alphas are extremely territorial, they don't like non-pack members in their den. So the fact that Derek can say something like that as if it wasn't a big deal is mind blowing right now.

Derek shrugs, "They're pack."

"They _are?_ " Okay, now Stiles was just speechless, because, what the actual fuck?

"Of course they are. I mean, maybe not officially, but, I don't see them as a threat to any of you. I know how much you care about them. I know that they're just as much your pack as I am. I don't want you to think that there's some kind of barrier between you and your friends now that you're my mate. They may not share a pack bond with me and the Betas right now but they're pack all the same. Even if they're not officially members yet, even if they decide to _never_ join officially, they're always welcome here... no matter what."

The smile on Stiles' face was blinding, his eyes lit with joy. Derek's heartbeat didn't skip a beat, nor did his face start to burn. Nope. Not at all.

"I love you." Stiles whispers lovingly before leaning to give Derek a chaste kiss.

"Ditto."

"Oh my fucking god did you just make a reference to the movie _Ghost_?! I didn't even know you knew that movie existed! And here I thought you had horrible taste in movies, there might be some hope for you yet sourwolf." the werefox proclaimed while laughing.

Derek's face was on fire, "Shut up."

"Oh, sourwolf, you truly know how to make a man swoon," Stiles teased while placing his hand on his forehead extravagantly, "I feel faint." the werefox sighed before flopping back on the bed.

Derek rolled his eyes at his Sub's dramatics, the smile slowly tugging at the corners of his mouth completely contradicting the action.

"Stop goofing around, we have to go downstairs before Erica breaks down the door and drags us down herself."

"But I have fainted. I am too weak to get up, you must carry me!! I demand a piggy back ride due to me being in such a fragile state!"

"Fragile my ass." Derek muttered under his breath ("I heard that!! Bad sourwolf, bad!") before crouching down and allowing Stiles to get on his back, causing Stiles to shout in victory.

 _Christ_ , he's in love with an idiot. A gorgeous, sarcastic, adorable idiot. How is this his life?

When they finally make it down to the living room Erica immediately starts catcalling them, Boyd shakes his head fondly at them before going back to watching whatever it was he was looking at on his phone, Isaac waves at them enthusiastically, Scott tilts his head in confusion, Danny gives Stiles a thumbs up, and Allison smiles brightly at them.

"Well, looks like you two finally made up. About fu- flipping time! Derek's constant pouting was irritating me." Erica announced, just barely managing to not curse in front of the kids. It's not like Allison and Danny aren't used to it, Jackson got very passionate with his diction whenever he re-watches the twilight series -fucking twihard- but it was nice to see her try.

"I do not pout." Derek retorted with a glare that had no heat behind it.

"Yes. Yes, you do." replied Boyd, giving the alpha the best bitch face Stiles has ever seen.

Stiles laughed at the small pout forming on Derek's face, causing the werewolf to drop him on the floor.

"Hey! Is that any way to treat your injured mate?"

The alpha rolled his eyes so hard his entire head moved but kissed Stiles' nose anyway, "Better?"

Stiles just grumbled as he felt his face heat up. Stupid Derek with his stupid eyes and his stupid stubble and his stupid face.

Erica fucking cackled.

After that, they all started to eat the Chinese food that Erica and Boyd ordered. Everyone was getting along, not that Derek suspected otherwise, and Danny and Allison seem to have wormed their way effortlessly into the hearts of everyone.

"I love egg rolls!!!" Allison exclaimed when Stiles put 2 eggrolls on her plate.

Boyd grabbed one of the eggrolls from his plate and dropped it on Allison's, "You can have mine."

Allison's smile was blinding, "EGG ROLL!!!" she shouted before erupting into a fit of giggles.

"Uncle Stiles, can you make me egg rolls one day?" She asked while happily eating the extra egg roll Boyd gave her.

"Once I learn how I'd gladly make them for you." Stiles answered while he gave Isaac his third serving of food. That little pup has the appetite of a fucking dragon.

"Yes!! You're going to make the best most amazing egg rolls ever Uncle Stiles!! I know you will!"

"I hope I live up to your high praise Miss Argent." the werefox announced as he ruffled her hair playfully, causing her to squeal.

Derek froze.

No else seemed to notice.  Erica was still scarfing down her food, Boyd was trying and failing to get her to slow down before she choked herself, Isaac was stuffing his face with fried rice while somehow simultaneously talking to both Scott and Danny, and Stiles was mercilessly tickling Allison.

Who was apparently an Argent...

Fuck.

"Hey, Der? Are you-" Stiles cut himself off as a look of understanding dawned on him.

Before Derek could say anything Stiles was dragging him up the stairs while telling everyone that he was going to have a mandatory make out session with Derek and he didn't want to scare the children. His heart didn't skip so no one questioned it.

The second Stiles closed the door words started pouring out of his mouth as if he wasn't able to physically stop them any longer.

"Okay, I'm really, _really_ sorry I didn't tell you this before hand but it honestly slipped my mind. Allison has been a part of my life almost as long as Scott has and we never talk about her biological family like ever so I totally forgot that this would affect you. Just- Ally's the sweetest thing ever and wouldn't hurt a fly! But... I understand if you don't want her around anymore. I won't force you to be near her if it makes you uncomfortable or anything but I can't eliminate her from my life, so, please don't make me do that."

Derek was silent for a long time. He didn't understand, from what he knew, the Argents were fierce werewolf hunters and they teach their children to become bloodthirsty hunters too. They have pride in their name and would only give away a child if it was mentally or physically ill, making them unsuitable for the job they were expected to do. But Allison was perfectly healthy, so why would they just give her up?

"Why?" Derek finally asked in a hushed tone.

"Huh?"

"Why would they give her up? It doesn't make sense. They're an old and prestigious family with pride in their name and in what they do. Why would they give their daughter up for adoption when she is perfectly healthy and capable of becoming another one of their mindless werewolf-hating soldiers?" Derek elaborated, the disgust evident in his voice.

"Because believe it or not, not all Argents are unmerciful werewolf murderers. Some of them actually stick by the code," Derek scoffed but Stiles kept speaking as if he was never interrupted, "Her biological parents are Chris and Victoria Argent, and although the Argents are traditionally a matriarchal bloodline, Chris was and still is the patriarch of the Argents because his younger sister, Kate, was too young to take charge of the family name and his wife isn't from the Argent family bloodline -plus she's bat shit crazy- making her ineligible to take that title. But, anyway, back to the important stuff, Chris was completely appalled when he heard of what Kate did to you and your family so he completely excommunicated her and his father, Gerard, for violating the code and instead created a new code that now he and his crazy scary wife both live by along with the rest of the Argent family that states that they will protect those who can't protect themselves. Both supernatural and human alike."

Stiles breathes deeply before continuing.

"But that gave them more enemies. Now hunters see the Argent family as traitors for defending 'mindless beasts' and the members of the supernatural community want to rip them apart for what they did to them in the past. They didn't really mind the new enemies until they had Allison, she was everything to them and Chris didn't want anything to happen to her but he didn't want to give her up either. When Allison was just a few months old they managed to contact a 17-year-old Lydia to babysit Allison while they were away on missions. Being a banshee, Lydia was able to protect Allison if anything happened while they were away. It wasn't until Allison was nearly 2 years old and a group of hunters tried to kidnap her while they were in the shower that they finally realized that they had to do something. They didn't want to hand their daughter over to the adoption system where literally anyone could get their hands on her, so, they asked Lydia if she'd like to adopt Allison and give her the loving home that she deserved. Lydia immediately agreed and since Allison had known Lydia her whole life and was practically raised by her, the transition was incredibly easy. Lydia didn't have the heart to change her last name, so, she decided to let Allison keep her full name until she's old enough to know about her family and she could decide for herself whether or not to change her last name."

Derek didn't say a word, silently contemplating what Stiles just finished explaining. He didn't want to believe it. He's thought of the Argents as nothing but werewolf serial killers ever since the fire. To consider them as anything else felt wrong... he refused to believe that the same monsters that killed his family could be capable of feeling emotions like remorse and love. But... Allison isn't at fault for what Kate did... and neither was Chris or his wife. no matter how much he wanted to say otherwise.

"Der?"

The alpha is snapped out of his daze by Stiles' tentative voice. The Sub was looking at him anxiously with worry written all over his face. How long was he zoned out?

"Der, do you want me to take Allison to my dad's? It's okay if you do, I won't be upset or anything. Do you want me to take Danny to my dad's too? Because if you do I'm totally okay with that, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable in your own home and Danny and Ally love my dad so they won't have a problem with it! Um, maybe I should take Scott too? He'll just ask questions if I don't tell him why and I don't think that you'd like-"

"Stiles, breathe." Derek interjected before the werefox could die of oxygen deprivation.

"I don't want you to take Allison to your dad's house. I meant what I said, Stiles, she's always going to be welcome here. I just didn't know how to react to that kind of information so suddenly, but, that doesn't mean I hate her. What Kate did wasn't her fault. I just... forgot that for a moment.."

Stiles kissed his cheek before nuzzling into the alpha's throat.

Derek huffed out a laugh and immediately started to nuzzle at Stiles' temple, "Love you"

"Love you too... Thanks, Der." Stiles whispers from where his head was still nuzzling the crook of Derek's neck.

"What are you thanking me for?" The alpha asked as he pulled away enough to look at Stiles' face.

"For not hating Allison," Stiles replied while nuzzling his jaw.

"I could never hate Allison, she's the embodiment of a Disney princess."

"True," Stiles snorts, "And Danny is her insanely smart brother that will rule the world in a few years. I'd start kissing up to him now if I were you."

Derek laughed, still not wanting to pull away from their warm embrace, "I'll make sure to give him cookies."

"Give him some Oreos and you're set for life."

"Hey, why did Lydia and Jackson end up adopting Danny?" Derek questioned.

He understands why they would adopt Allison but he can't come up with a reason why they would adopt Danny while they were still both in their early twenties.

"Oh, well, Jackson's adoptive dad is a really famous lawyer and he was working on a case were a married couple died in a car crash due to a drunk driver crashing into them in a front collision. Only the married couple had a 3-year-old kid in the backseat that somehow managed to survive and the authorities didn't know whether to put the kid in the adoption system or to send him to the closest family member. Usually they wouldn't think twice about it and send Danny to his family members but apparently, his parents both came from extremely poor backgrounds and the authorities didn't know if they'd be able to provide Danny with everything he needed. Then Jackson met Danny during one of his visits from college and fell in love with him."

Stiles shakes his head fondly at the memory before proceeding.

"After hearing what happened to Danny's family Jackson decided to adopt him since it reminded him of what happened to his birth parents when he was a baby. So, after going through the hassle that is adopting a kid through the legal system and angsting over whether or not he'll be a good dad, Jackson officially became Danny's adoptive father."

Derek took a moment to take in the information Stiles has just given him.

It's weird, a few years ago Lydia and Jackson were both just regular college students studying to get their degrees and then out of nowhere they became parents of two toddlers. Derek had already finished his training in the police academy and was working as a new deputy in New York when he adopted Erica so he didn't have to deal with the struggle of juggling kids with schoolwork. Not to mention that Erica was already 12 years old so he never really experienced taking care of a toddler until he adopted Isaac.

Yet, Stiles had to take care of Scott all by himself since he was 16 years old with Lydia and Jackson following close behind with two kids before either of them reached 21. Derek can't even imagine how difficult it must have been for all of them...

Before Derek could even realize what he was doing, his and Stiles' lips met in a raging kiss. This one wasn't like most of their other kisses that were slow and tender, this one was rough and deep, leaving them panting with red glistening lips when they parted before their lip instantly reconnect once they caught their breath.

Derek doesn't know how long they stayed like that before Stiles finally pulled away and spoke, "What was that for?" He inquired, completely breathless with half-lidded eyes that made Derek preen.

"For being amazing." Stiles seemed confused by the alpha's words, so, Derek continued, "Besides, I was promised a mandatory make out session." he said with a smirk.

The werefox just rolled his eyes before heading to the door, "Come on, the pack is betting money on when we'll come back down and I want to make sure no one wins."

"Why?"

"Because it's fun to ruin their day."

"You're starting to sound like Erica." Derek said, terrified of the idea of Stiles and Erica ganging up against him.

Stiles just laughed as he walked out of the room.

 

* * *

 

When they finally arrived downstairs the pack groaned simultaneously at having all lost the bet. Stiles was right. It was fun to ruin their day.

"You little shit!!" Erica yelled while glaring at Stiles, "You knew didn't you!! And here I thought we were friends. I'm going to hunt your furry little ass down and eat you!"

The Sub gave her a shit eating smile while not so subtly positioning himself behind Derek.

The alpha couldn't help but roll his eyes at the scene. His pack was unbelievable.

"Der! Can we run? Please!!!" the little curly haired beta exclaimed while looking up at him with a hopeful expression.

"No" He sighed. He'd love to go running with the pack but they had two human second graders to take care of and he didn't want to leave one of the pack behind to watch them while he and the others run around in the woods.

The pup's saddened face was enough to make him feel like his heart was about to be ripped in two. Isaac looked like he just burned down Disney World.

The feeling only worsened when Scott looked at him with the most grief-stricken face imaginable, "What? But... why not?" Damn those puppy dog eyes. How the fuck does Stiles deal with this?

He must have accidentally said that last part out loud because next thing he knew Stiles was staring at him while saying, "His kicked puppy face doesn't work on me. I am the master of nonverbal guilt-tripping; compared to me he's an amateur."

Before the alpha has a chance to ask Stiles to elaborate, Danny's voice rings through the room, "Why can't we run Alpha Derek?"

"Derek is fine, you don't have to call me 'Alpha' all the time," he announced, "And we can't run because you and Allison are human and I don't want to split the pack."

"You don't have to split the pack," Allison commented from her spot on the couch, "Dad and Uncle Stiles let us run with them. We're really fast!"

Derek was about to decline once more but one glance at Stiles' face and he were announcing the beginning of a pack run less than a second later. Stiles wasn't lying about Scott being an amateur compared to him. The sight was enough to make Derek want to find a unicorn and lay it at the Sub's feet. With maybe all the curly fries in the universe.

"Damn, Bambi, who did you change your face like that? I wanted to go out and buy you a puppy or something you looked so heartbroken!!" Erica proclaimed as she cuddled him in her arms.

"Talent. And practice. Lots and lots of practice. I don't even know how the fuck I managed to get myself into half the shit I did in my high school years." he said while just letting her manhandle him as she pleased.

After a few more minutes of Erica's cooing they were finally ready to start their pack run. It won't be as rough or fast as the others were but undoubtedly no less fun.

Seeing everyone like this, waiting excitedly for the run to start reminded Derek of how pack runs used to be with his family before the fire. The memory made him feel a dull ache in his chest at the reminder of what he lost in the fire but it the pain no longer consumed him until he could barely function like it used to.

Just as they were about to run into the preserve, the front door flew open.

"Hello, my lovelies!! Your royal highness has arrived!"

Oh no. Please god no. Anything but this.

"Grandma!" Isaac screeched as he ran towards the older alpha.

His mom was standing just a few feet away from the front door, her hair hanging loosely below her shoulders, her freckled face lip up with joy as she crouched down and hugged Isaac to her chest, her worn out jeans and slightly baggy t-shirt making her seem like an average woman in her forties but not able to hide the air of power that she always managed to have around her. This was Talia Hale. His mom. Who said he was going to kick his ass if he didn't call.

Shit.

"Hey Isaac, how's my little pup doing?"

Derek blocks out the rest of their conversation and focuses on Stiles.

The werefox is looking at his mom with a strange expression. Almost, mournful. But, before Derek has the chance to question what was wrong the fox furrowed his brows and leaned slightly in the direction of his mother.

"Tally?" He whispered, the word so faint that Derek had trouble hearing them even with his heightened senses.

His mother didn't seem to have the same problem, though, looking up the second Stiles finished uttering the word. She gave him a small, wistful smile, letting go of Isaac completely as the little pup made his way back to Scott and Danny.

The werefox was on the other side of the room in 0.2 seconds, enveloped in the female alpha's arms with his head tucked snuggly into her neck and hugging her like he was afraid she might disappear at any moment.

"Tally," Stiles sighed as he nuzzled her neck.

The alpha smiled fondly while she continued to hold the Sub, "You know, I was afraid that you wouldn't recognize me. It's been so long I thought you would have already forgotten about me by now."

Stiles shook his head firmly, "Never. I could never forget you. I missed you so much!"

"Oh, cariño, I know. I missed you too. So, so much." Talia soothed, tightening her hold on the Sub.

Derek couldn't believe his eyes. His mother was hugging his mate as if her life depended on it and Stiles was hugging her back just as tightly.

What the hell was going on here?! From what Derek knew, his mom and Stiles have had no interactions with each other prior to this moment. But looking at how they were wrapped in each other's arms right now, the alpha couldn't have been farther away from the truth.

"Wait. You know my _mom_?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys hope you liked the chapter! I'm so sorry for the super late update!! D_N was being a lazy butt and didn't edit for A MONTH after I finished writing this so again, sorry for the late update, I'll try to make her edit sooner but she's a hard core procrastinator so yeah. Not much hope there. But if anything I'll just start posting chapters unedited and update them once she finishes editing (she usually gets it done quicker like that) if you guys want.
> 
> Also, Sorry about the lack of smut but there was just too much going on in this chapter to include it without having it rushed so we saved it for the next chapter. Don't miss it ;)
> 
> P.S. If you guys have any requests for future sexy scenes that don't interfere with neither Stiles nor Derek's hard limits I'll gladly consider doing them for future chapters so don't be afraid to ask


	12. Avalanche

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm tired of having D_N take 3 weeks to edit a chapter so this chapter is unbetaed and will be edited once D_N stops being a lazy butt. So sorry for the typos and errors I tried to fix it as best I could before posting.

Derek couldn't believe his eyes. His mate was holding onto his mom like he needed it to breathe! And Derek didn't even know that the two of them knew each other!

He can tell that the rest of the pack was thinking around the same lines he was given the fact that they were all looking at the scene before them in complete bewilderment. Even Scott seems confused.

After a moment, Talia lets go of the Sub but makes sure to maintain some sort of physical contact with Stiles as they pull apart and turn to the others in the room. Stiles looks sheepish, like he forgot they weren't the only ones in the room while Derek's mom acknowledges everyone with that air of diplomacy that is somehow always around her.

“Hello, my lovelies!” She said as she smiled brightly at all of them. “Now, what is this I heard about a pack run?”

The beta’s smiled at the thought of Talia joining the pack run with them, they all adored the older alpha, and Derek rolled his eyes at his mother’s antics. Of course she would change the subject from how the fuck she knows Stiles to something completely irrelevant at the moment.

After a few minutes of introducing herself to Scott, Allison, and Danny while simultaneously gaining their adoration -Derek doesn’t understand how his mom is capable of getting people to love her after speaking to them for less than 2 seconds- the pack run officially started.

Both Derek and his mom were in their wolf forms accompanied by Stiles in his fox form as the betas that had shifted into their beta forms and Allison and Danny ran around giggling after them.

Derek let Erica and Boyd frolic around the preserve as they pleased while he stayed behind, closer to Scott and Isaac. He would occasionally speed up to make sure the older betas weren’t straying too far ahead of them but he mostly kept watch of the two pups.

The young alpha could hear his mom staying even farther behind with Allison and Danny as she playfully nipped at them, causing the humans to squeal. Stiles on the other hand was a completely different story.

The fox was running circles around the entire pack. Sometimes initiating a game of tag with Erica and Boyd that always ended in his victory, other times he would play fight with Scott and Isaac while occasionally nipping at Derek if he felt cheeky, and every so often slowing down to play with the kids and Talia in the back of the group before sprinting up again to go back to playing tag with Erica and Boyd.

They went on like that until Allison and Danny became too tired to keep up and Scott and Isaac started yawning.

By this point everyone was starting to feel worn out and wanted to get back into the house, except Stiles, who was still running around in his fox form yipping happily at them even after everyone shifted back. It wasn’t until Derek finally scooped the small fox into his arms that the Sub started to calm down. Even though it only lasted for a few seconds before the fox was pawing at his face. Stiles was such a restless ball of energy. Derek can’t imagine how he must have been as a kid.

He suddenly has a new found appreciation for the sheriff. That man deserves a donut every once in awhile.

The pack gathers around the living room. Scott, Isaac, and Danny are huddled up together inside a blanket on the floor while Allison sits in between Erica and Boyd on the couch as Derek and a now fully human Stiles cuddle up together in the love seat being eyed by a very smug Talia currently sitting in the armchair.

They settled on watching the movie Beauty and the Beast -one of Derek's favorites- and enjoyed the beginning of the movie as the pleasant feeling of pack surrounded them. Derek remembers doing this plenty of times growing up, going on a nice pack run before coming inside and sitting between Laura and his dad as they watched a movie with the whole pack huddled together.

But for some reason, this feels so much better now than it used to. Then again, that probably has more to do with the fact that Stiles is sitting on his lap cuddling him to his heart’s content than anything else.

Derek kind of wants to glare at his mom for looking so pleased but can’t bring himself to do it. How can he glare at anything when Stiles is practically draped over him like an incredibly affectionate blanket? Seriously, the ball of affection that is Stiles is something to behold.

They all continue to enjoy the movie in comfortable silence with one of the betas commenting on a certain scene every once in awhile, but, surprisingly, Stiles didn’t mutter a single word throughout the movie.

It’s strange considering he usually rambles about at least _one_ scene when watching a movie. However, the second Derek sees the content look on Stiles’ face accompanied by the lazy smile that is plastered on his lips, he couldn’t resist the swell of pride he feels in his chest at the sight of having his mate appearing so openly pleased in his embrace.

It made his wolf grumble in approval.

When the movie ended the entire pack initiated a game of Apples to Apples which is essentially a kid friendly version of Cards Against Humanity, and, to everyone’s surprise, Boyd was winning by a landslide.

Before long his mom made them all her famous hot chocolate just as they commenced the second round after having their asses handed to them by the silent beta. Derek has no idea what she puts in this hot chocolate but it tastes like paradise and heaven’s love child. It’s so fucking good.

“Oh my god, what do you put in this?” Stiles asks after taking his first sip of hot chocolate bliss. “It feels like I just had my first sip of happiness!”

Talia smirks, “Hale family secret.”

“I doesn’t count as a Hale family secret if no one else in the Hale family knows other than you.” Derek says as he continues to drink his chocolatey goodness. If there’s one thing he misses about living with his mom it’s her hot chocolate.

The older alpha just rolls her eyes and focuses back on the game. Talia Hale hates losing.

Then out of nowhere, Stiles blindsides them and wins the game from under everyone's noses.

What the hell just happened?

“What!! How did you beat me?!?” Talia screeched as she stared wide eyed at the werefox.

“I had good cards and made sure not to show any emotion when I'd win a round to make sure no one suspected me.” Stiles shrugged.

Talia blinked. “But… That's what I do. You used my strategy!!”

“You're the one that taught me. Should have been paying more attention to your former student.”

Erica perks up at this, “I didn't know you used to be a teacher Tal.”

Talia chuckles, “That's because I wasn't. I am and have always been an attorney. The only thing I ever taught was the ways of winning. I guess that wasn’t such a good idea in the long run.”

“Then how did you meet Stiles? Did you know his mom or something?” Erica asks curiously.

"No, I never met Claudia, at least not personally." Talia  announces. "But everyone in the supernatural community knew who Claudia Stilinski was. She was the Queen of The Werefoxes, everyone knew about her. Which also meant they knew Stiles by association. The young Prince of Werefoxes."

She ignored Erica's exaggerated gawk and continued on as if not having heard the beta's initial shock at Stiles' position in the werefox community. Even Boyd's eyes widened a bit at the realization.

Talia glances in Stiles’ direction and smiles softly before speaking, “It was when Stiles and John first moved to Beacon Hills that I actually met Stiles. John isn't a supernatural and he knew raising a werefox on his own would be difficult, so, he came to me the day after moving here and asked me if it was possible to find someone to take care of Stiles for a bit while he tried to find a job. Little did he know I would happily volunteer.”

“You never mentioned anything like that.” Derek said.

“Derek, the kit needed to keep his supernatural status a secret so the Berserkers wouldn't find him. Do you really think I'd risk letting information leak out when Stiles’ life could be put in danger because of it? Besides, it’s not like you would have done anything, you were 11 and your world revolved around sports and pizza while Stiles was 8 and mourning his mother's death.”

Derek whines. He could have met Stiles so much sooner, he could have been there for him through one of the hardest moments in his life. His mate was so close and he didn't do anything!

“Aw, misiu, don't be sad.” Stiles cooed. “We're together now right? That's all that matters. Plus you probably would have hated me as a kid. I was annoying as all hell.”

“I could never hate you. Pretend to hate you, maybe, but never actually hate you. I love you too much.” Derek proclaimed before leaning in to kiss Stiles’ nose.

“You guys are going to give me cavities.” Erica groans.

“And you and Boyd are going to give me HIV so get over it.” Derek growls as he pulls Stiles up against him and buries his nose in the Sub's neck. He doesn't care if they get cavities. It's not his problem. He just wants Stiles.

Stiles laughs and shakes his head fondly at his Dom's behavior.

Talia smirks. “Looks like I'm going to have more grandkids running around real soon if this keeps up.”

“MOM!”

“Yes, corazón?” She says innocently.

Derek gives her the most offended face he could muster. His mom was just too much sometimes.

“Oh god you have no idea how much I missed you Tally.”

“I missed you to cariño.”

“Okay, I’m confused why do you guys act like you’re long lost besties but Tal just finished explaining that she only took care of you for a few days when you were 8. I don’t think those circumstances give way to long lasting emotional bonds between strangers.” The blonde beta proclaimed with confused laced into her voice.

“That’s because I _didn’t_ take care of him for a few days, I kept spending time with Stiles long after John got a job as a deputy up until he was 13, after the fire happened.”

“Wait, so you took care for him for 5 years and kept it a secret from me all this time?! Why?” Derek inquired.

Talia shrugged, “The more time I spent with him, the more I adored him. He was nice company to have around when you have an annoying teenager and a bratty preteen waiting for you back home.”

“Hey!” He wasn’t that bad. He had a bit of an ego, yeah, but he wasn’t _bratty_!

“Don’t give me that look Derek, you were a cocky little shit and you know it!”

“Hold on. This means you still talked to Stiles when he had The Dream!!” Erica said mischievously. “Tell me everything!”

“What’s The Dream?” Scott asked as he looked around the room innocently.

Well. This just became a very awkward situation.

Stiles clears his throat, “Well, you see Scottie, um, everyone experiences this thing called The Dream on the night of their 13th birthday. And in that dream you are given your classification of Dom, Sub, or Switch based on your, uh, experience.”

Well that’s definitely not what Derek would have said to Scott if he were the one explaining The Dream. It’s hard to find the right words to explain The Dream to a 7 year old considering it’s basically just a wet dream everyone gets the night they turn 13 that reveals whether they’re a Dom, Sub, or Switch based on what was going on in the dream.

If you were topping during the dream then you classified as a Dom, if you were bottoming then you classified as a Sub, and if you had fragments of both topping and bottoming then you classified as a Switch.

It’s really embarrassing the next day when you have to tell your family what your classification is.

After that they all head back to their designated rooms to get some sleep. Some packs stay in puppy piles after every pack night but they usually only do puppy piles when it’s a full moon and they seek the comfort of pack more than usual.

“Der, do you love me?” Stiles asks the second Derek closes the door.

“What? Of course I do, baby, why do you even need to ask? I love you more than anything, sweetheart.”

The werefox smirks, “Then show me.”

Derek chuckles as he loops his arms around the Sub's waist. “And how exactly do you want me to show you?” He whispers huskily into Stiles’ ear, causing the werefox to shiver.

“I want you to sing me a Disney song.”

Derek blinks.

Did that actually come out of Stiles’ mouth?

“Stiles? Did you just say you want me to sing you a Disney song?”

“Yep. Come on big guy, serenade me!” Stiles exclaims while flopping unceremoniously on the king sized bed.

“Not going to happen.” He deadpans.

The pout that forms on Stiles’ face was probably the cutest thing he's ever seen. It's probably horrible that he thinks Stiles looks adorable when pouting but Derek can't help it. Stiles looks so cute when he pouts!

“But Deeeer I saw you mumbling all the lyrics to the songs, I know you know them! Why don't you want to sing one for me? Just one song, pleeeeeease!” Stiles whines, “I'll love you forever if you do.”

The werewolf rolls his eyes, “You'll love me forever anyway.”

“True. But I'll let you have your own special cuddle puddle with me all of tomorrow if you sing me a Disney song, preferably Tale As Old As Time because we just watched Beauty and the Beast and I feel like waltzing right about now. And if you don't sing I'll be sad.”

Tale As Old As Time… why the fuck does it have to be that song?! How is this his life?

Derek glares as he growls out a “Fine.” at his mate's behavior. Stupid Stiles and his annoyingly adorable pout.

That werefox is going to be the death of him.

 

* * *

 

Stiles woke up the next day with strong arms wrapped protectively around him and Derek’s sleeping face buried in his neck. The werefox smiles at the sight. Derek is such a cuddle monster.

It’s only 8 in the morning according to his phone but Stiles has always found it nearly impossible to go back to sleep once he’s woken up, so, he tried to slide out of Derek’s grip. Which is apparently a lot easier said than done because Derek is an incredibly light sleeper.

“Mm Stiles? What is it?” Derek mumbled tiredly while nuzzling his neck.

“I woke up so I’m going to make some coffee.”

“What time’s it?” The werewolf asked as he groggily looked around the room is search for the answer.

Stiles chuckled. Derek was cute as shit when he was half asleep. “It’s around 8 right now.”

The glare Derek sends him is leaning a lot more towards adorable than the usual ‘I will kill you with my eyes alone’ vibe he has going on. Stiles needs to suppress his laughter in efforts not to hurt Derek’s feelings. The werewolf truly does think he’s intimidating, but Stiles knows he’s a just a big snuggly puppy.

“Then why are you awake? Sleep.” Derek grumbles as he goes back to nuzzling Stiles’ neck.

The Sub rolls his eyes, “I’m already awake Der, and I want coffee.”

“Coffee bad. Sleep good. Stay.”

“Wow, you’re speaking in full caveman now. My little misiu must be sleepy.”

“Shut up, Stiles.” He mumbles while tightening his grip around Stiles’ waist.

Stiles laughs, “You must be really sleepy if you don’t want to hear the perfection that is my voice.” He teases.

The Dom just growls and holds him tighter, “Stay or I’ll bite you.”

“Noo! It’s the attack of the cuddle wolf!! How will I ever survive! The horror!!”

Derek flinches away due to Stiles’ loud screams, allowing the werefox to slip out of his grip.

“Freedom!! I have escaped from the evil clutches of the cuddle wolf! Victory is mine!” He shouts as he leaps off the bed.

The werewolf whines at the loss, causing Stiles to turn around and kiss his nose. Then he wraps his arms around Stiles and pulls him on the bed yet again. Stiles shrieks -a very manly shriek mind you- and practically falls on top of Derek.

Then when he looks up at Derek’s face the fucker is smirking, _smirking_!! And he’s not even trying to hide it! Just letting it show like the cheeky bastard he is.

“Come on Der!” Stiles whines, “I’m not going to be able to fall back asleep and you _know_ I need coffee to function properly!” He says with a pout firmly on his lips.

The Dom scowls but eventually loosens his grip with a resigned “Fine.”

The werefox smiles brightly and kisses Derek chastely on the lips, “Love you.” He says tenderly before standing up and moving towards the door.

A warm feeling blossoms in his chest when he hears Derek whisper “I love you too.”

When he finishes pouring the coffee into his mug Erica skips into the kitchen with her golden curls bouncing majestically on her shoulders.

“Hey, Bambi! Smells good can I have a sip?” She asks while trying to snatch Stiles’ coffee.

Stiles slaps her hand away. No one steals his coffee. “What’s the point of asking if you can have some when you’re just going to try and take it away from me anyway?”

“I was trying to be polite!” Erica says as she gives Stiles an offended look.

Stiles rolls his eyes before sipping from his coffee mug and sighing at the caffeinated bliss that touches his tongue. Erica glares at him.

“What? My coffee is sacred! No one touches my coffee, okay? _No one_!”

And just as he says that Derek’s hand comes from nowhere and takes his mug from his hands before drinking some of Stiles’ coffee.

Stiles makes no complaints as Derek gives him back his mug and slips his arms around his hips. Erica gawks at them in disbelief. The Sub simply smirks and leans against Derek’s chest as the werewolf nuzzles his neck.

“You just said no one could touch your coffee!! You said it was sacred!” The beta screeches.

Stiles shrugs, “Derek has special privileges.”  

“I can see that.” Talia’s voice says from behind them. “So, why didn’t you tell me when you two made your contract Derek!? I could have helped! Just knowing that you made such an important decision without even so much as telling your beloved mother hurts my heart to the very core.”

Derek tensed.

Oh, right, they haven’t made a contract yet. Stiles has been wanting to make one with Derek for awhile now but Derek has never brought it up. Maybe he’s not ready? Or… maybe he’s having second thoughts…

Shit! Keep it together Stiles! Derek loves him, he knows that, but, what other explanation can there be for Derek to get to rigid all of a sudden?

“Mom, me and Stiles… um… we haven’t made a contract yet.” Derek said awkwardly. “I mean, if it was up to me I would have made a contract with Stiles after our first date but I didn’t want to make him feel rushed or pressured about anything. We’ll make a contract when he wants to, I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

“Wait, you… you want to make a contract with me?” Stiles asks as he looks up at his Dom.

Derek kisses his cheek sweetly, “Of course I do. I’ve been thinking of asking you for awhile now.”

Stiles laughs,“Then why having we made a contract yet?! Let’s do this!”

“Right now?”

“Yes right fucking now!! Come on time's a wastin! Move that glorious bubble butt of yours and hop to it.” Stiles yells out as he makes his way up the stairs to Derek’s office.

Derek looks at his mom in search for some kind of explanation to what just happened. She shrugged and shook her head fondly at him before leaving the kitchen.

It’s a mystery to him how he manages to keep up with Stiles most of the time.

 

* * *

 

Some people like having a formal written copy of their contract but Derek and Stiles both decided to keep it saved in a word document on the computer for them to edit and modify whenever they saw fit.

“Okay, so, I already have some information in here from what you've told me when we discussed non-sexual hard and soft limits as well as safe words, punishments, and rules. That means we need to talk about sexual kinks, hard and soft limits during sexual scenes, and titles used for scenes if we decide to use any. Is there anything else I'm missing?”

“No, I think you covered everything we need to address, at least for now, we can always just add to it later on if we forgot something.” Stiles said as he looked at the document displayed on the screen.

“True, then let's get the hard and soft limits out of the way first.” Derek suggests and looks back at Stiles when the werefox nods in agreement.

“Wax play and knife play are out of the question for me. Same as any rape/non-con role play. I just… I can't put myself into that mindset and not go into a top drop afterwards. It makes me feel like a horrible person and I can't get off on it, I know other people like it but I just… can't. I don't mind doing scenes with you in public but our clothes _have_ to stay on, I don't want anyone seeing you naked besides myself.”

Stiles chuckles as Derek's sudden flare of possessiveness. He doesn't really care if other people watch them do a scene but he's not so fond of the idea of strangers seeing Derek completely bare. Derek is _his_ and no one else's.

“Also, I know that a lot of Doms enjoy doing scenes where they're topping from the bottom but I don't. It's a trigger for me ever since Kate…”

Stiles growled. If that fucking bitch wasn't already in jail Stiles would have clawed her eyes out and stuffed them down her throat so she would see him tear her body to shreds from the inside.

“She, um, she said that sometimes The Dream wasn't accurate and placed people in the wrong category and she tried to convince me that I was a Sub and told me that once I ‘gave it a try’ I'd love it but… I didn't. It felt unnatural and forced and it made my wolf lash out and, yeah, it isn't the best experience. I mean, I know I shouldn't base what I feel about something after only one bad experience but whenever I think about it I get flashbacks and it's like it's happening all over again and I… I'm sorry.”

Okay, so what if Kate Argent was alright in jail, Stiles was going to gouge out her eyeballs with a rusty spoon.

How fucking dare she manipulate Derek like that! Telling him The Dream is wrong when it was scientifically proven to have a 100% accuracy rate. The Dream is literally a bunch of signals your brain sends out through a dream expressing your body’s new developments! Like how the fuck does your own body get your category wrong?!

Sure, there are some people that get put into the Sub or Switch categories when they always thought themselves as Doms or vise versa but The Dream was never wrong. It’s your own body telling you what you are the night you turn 13 when the chemicals in your body start to send messages to your brain.

“Hey,” Stiles cooed, “it's okay, you don't need to do anything you don't want to, especially if it's a trigger for you. Malia and I did a couple of scenes where she topped from the bottom but it was more her kink than mine, it really doesn’t bother me either way. I just want my misiu to be happy.”

Stiles preens when he sees a small, pleased smile make its way on Derek’s face.

“Well, I guess that’s all for my hard limits. Your turn.” Derek said as he started typing all his hard limits on the computer.

“Um, I guess any form of breath play is out for me, as well as anything that has to do with needles, I’ll have a panic attack if I see a needle. Dirty talk is fine to a certain point. Like, if you say something like I was born to suck your cock or something I’ll be fine but if you say that I’m a whore that just wants to be fucked and you were the first thing I could get my hands on I’ll probably have an emotional breakdown in the middle of the scene, so, yeah, dirty talk is rocky territory. Also, humiliation is a huge ‘no’ for me, it reminds me too much of Theo and I’ve always hated it, so, big red x for that one. Ummm oh! No sex penetrative without lube. Not letting you put your dick up my ass without prep, I’m not about that life.”

Derek chuckles, “Okay, got it. I guess that settles the hard limits. Any soft limits?”

“Well, like I said dirty talk is iffy. I’ve never been gagged before, so, I’m not sure how I’ll react to not being able to speak for a scene, sarcasm is basically my only defense and I don’t know how I feel about that being taken away from me. Also, taking away my hearing in any way will probably freak me out since it’s the sense I most rely on, so, if you really want to do a scene that requires the absence of my hearing just be sure to prepare for the worst. Other than those nothing else comes to mind.”

The werewolf nods, “We seem the have the same ideas when it comes to limits, so, the only ones I really have left that you haven’t addressed yet are food play, watersports, age play, and pet play. If any of these are a kink of yours then I’ll gladly do them but food play is a hassle when it comes to cleaning and watersports have never really been my thing. Also, age play is fine but I’d prefer to not go into infantilism and keep age play scenes -if we ever decide to do them- as non-sexual scenes, same as pet play.”

“To be honest I’m not a big fan of any of those.” Stiles informs, “Never really got into the whole age play/pet play scene and watersports never did anything for me while food play just didn’t seem like something I’d be into.”

“Alright so then that leaves us with kinks and titles during scenes. So, are we going to be using any specific titles during scenes or would you prefer to just be addressed by our names?” Derek asked curiously. He personally leaned towards using titles but if Stiles didn’t want to then he’d be perfectly fine with calling Stiles by his name during scenes.

“Yeah, I think we should use titles. Using titles makes it easier for me to figure out when the scene has officially ended and helps me come out of Subspace better.”

Derek nods once more, “Okay, titles it is, so are we going with the typical Sir/Boy or do you want to use something else?” The werewolf asks.

“Definately something else. I can’t call you Sir, that’s what I called my dad back when he was my legal Dom so calling you Sir would just be weird for me. Moreover, I’d feel awkward calling you Master because I used to call Malia Mistress before, well, she died, so, yeah I’d prefer not calling you that.” Stiles said as he started fidgeting in his seat.

“Then what do you want to call me, baby?” Derek asked while placing his hand firmly on the back of Stiles’ neck to calm him down.

Stiles bit his lip. “I… nevermind, it’s stupid.”

The werewolf grabs his chin gently and lifts his head until their eyes meet. “Stiles, please tell me, sweetheart.”

Derek’s eyes look so damn loving and understanding that it makes something ache in Stiles’ chest when he sees them. Fucking Derek and his stupidly gorgeous eyes.

“It’s really not that important, it’s pretty stupid really, but, um, I was thinking maybe I could call you… Alpha?” Stiles says timidly.

Derek’s eyes flash bright red for a split second before returning to their usual hazel.

“You don’t have to do that.” The alpha says but his voice is deeper than it was a second ago and his pupils have dilated just the slightest bit after hearing the title fall from the Sub’s lips.

“I know I don’t. But I want to, so, you’re just going to have to deal with it… Alpha.”

Derek practically purrs at the sound of Stiles whispering the word into his ear. The werefox was fascinated by how much the simple title affected the Dom.

“Seems like we found a winner.” Stiles says, smiling brightly up at Derek. “So, what do you want to call me, sourwolf?”

Derek smirked, and there was a mischievous gleam in his eyes that Stiles hadn’t seen before. What the hell did he get himself into?

“Kitten.” Derek said with a smug look on his face.

Stiles laughed, “Come on Der, be serious. This is not the time for jokes.”

The alpha simply raises an eyebrow at him, “I’m not joking Stiles.” Derek said, “That’s what I want to call you. Kitten.”

“I have explained this to you before. Foxes are _not_ felines, they are canines just like wolves are. Get your facts straight big guy.”

“Stiles, if you don’t like the title all you have to do is say so and I’ll change it.” Derek says with a teasing smile. The fucker.

“Change it.” He states.

“Nope. You have to say you don’t like it without me detecting a lie before I change it.”

Stiles pouts.

The alpha smirks, “Go on. Tell me you don’t like it.”

“I don’t like it.”

Derek’s eyes light up, “Lie.”

Stiles grumbles under his breathe but doesn’t deny it. Why did his Beloved have to be a living lie detector?

“Now all that’s left is talking about kinks.” Derek says, “I’m not going to lie, I think you’d look gorgeous with a gag but I won’t push you to do anything you’re not comfortable with, the last thing I want is for you to have a panic attack or go into a drop during a scene. Bondage, marking, and edging are all major kinks of mine as well as orgasm delay. Sensory play is also a huge yes for me.”

“Oh my god I _love_ bondage! Just make sure not to use rope as bondage, that’s one of my triggers. Marking I don’t mind as long as it’s just your claws and fangs. Edging is a huge enormous yes in my book and sensory play I also really enjoy, just promise you’ll talk to me throughout the whole thing and explain what you’re doing if I’m blindfolded. I also have a huge praise kink and I love vibrators and cockrings. We don’t have to use either of them during scenes if you don’t want to but I really like them, so, yeah. Ummm those are all the ones I have, or at least all the ones I’ve tried and really liked, so, I guess that’s it?”

“Then all we have to do is sign the contract and we’re done.” Derek comments as he signs his signature onto the touch screen computer, soon followed by Stiles putting in his own signature.

Once they finished they both kind of stared at the computer as if at a loss for what to do. That is until a moment later when Stiles broke the growing silence.

“Well? What are we still doing here? I need to get sexed up by a broody alpha werewolf.”

Derek chokes on air at Stiles’ declaration. “We don’t to have sex right this minute Stiles! I don’t want to rush you, take your time, baby, I don’t mind waiting.”

The werefox huffs, “Well maybe you don’t mind waiting sourwolf but I do. I haven’t had sex since Scott was born and I am not waiting any longer just because your patient irrelevant ass wants to wait.”

“Hold on. You haven’t have sex since you have Scott? What about Theo?” Derek asks in bewilderment.

Stiles sighs, “Me and Theo never had sex. He said I ‘didn’t know how to please him’ and he needed to ‘train me’ before we could have sex. I really dodged the bullet on that one, just thinking about it makes me feel revolting.”

“Stiles, are you sure you don’t want to wait a bit longer? I don’t-”

“God damn it Derek I’m not the fucking virgin Stiles! I’ve had sex before and now I want to have sex with _you_. Many times. In many different positions. So stop trying to change my mind about this and sex me up already!”

And just like that Derek shut his mouth and stood up from his seat. Stiles grinned as they made their way towards the master bedroom.

 

* * *

 

Derek could see Stiles hesitating as he started taking off his clothes.

Stiles always acted extremely confident and sure in himself but Derek could see through the facade. The Sub was nervous even if he insists he isn't.

They were going to do a rather simple scene, Stiles was going to be kneeling by the bed with his hands cuffed with leather binds as he blowed Derek. Nothing out of this world.

But Stiles was fidgeting and biting his lip and Derek could tell he was already starting to get into his head space even if they hadn't done anything yet.

“Kitten,” Stiles lifted his head until he was looking into Derek's eyes, “it’s okay, you don't have to do anything you don't want to, we can do something else.” He says as he gently caresses the Sub's cheek with his thumb.

Stiles shakes his head slightly, “No, I want to do this. I just… I really want to make you feel good.”

Derek smiles softly at the werefox and kisses his nose, “And you will. Kitten, you always make me feel good. Now, just relax and I'll guide you through it okay?”

“Yes Alpha.” Stiles murmured.

Shit. That title really did things to him. Good thing Stiles won't be able to talk during this scene because Derek is pretty sure he'd cum just from hearing that word slide out of Stiles mouth alone.

“Good. Can you tell me what you're safe words are?”

“1 tap on your leg for keep going, 2 taps for slow down, and 3 taps for stop.” Stiles confirms.

“Good boy.” Derek might have preened at the way Stiles’ eyes clouded over at the praise. Just a little.

With his fingers carded through Stiles’ hair, Derek slowly moved the Sub closer to his now half hard cock.

The sight of Stiles slowly opening his mouth and wrapping his cupid bow lips around the tip of his cock was fucking pornographic.

Derek moaned loudly when Stiles locked eyes with him and sucked. The Sub was going to drive him crazy.

The werefox relaxed his jaw and gradually started taking more and more of Derek's dick in his mouth until the alpha could feel the back of Stiles’ throat and _fuck_ he was going to cum embarrassingly fast.

“Shit.” Derek moaned and something in his face must have given away just how close he was because Stiles started sucking with vigor.

He hollowed his cheeks and started bobbing his head up and down Derek's cock.

“ _Fuck_. Such a good boy, so perfect for me, making me feel so good. My pretty little fox. My beautiful good boy.”

Derek grabbed a hold of Stiles’ hair and tried to refrain from bucking into Stiles’ mouth when the Sub started to swirl his tongue over the tip. Stiles is going to be the death of him.

The praise seemed to give the werefox some new found confidence as the Sub began to let go of his restrictions and just focused all his attention purely on sucking Derek off.

The previously slow and almost timid pace was suddenly replaced with a rigorous one that left Derek panting and his cock aching for release.

“ _Jesus_ , Kitten, so good, feels so good for me baby. Such a good boy for your Alpha, always pleasing me. So fucking perfect.” Derek groaned out. He was so fucking close!

Derek knew we wasn’t going to last much longer, could feel the slow burning in his stomach signaling his upcoming orgasm, but he still needed an extra push to go over the edge.

In an attempt to stop himself from bucking into Stiles’ mouth, Derek pulls on Stiles’ hair causing the werefox to let out a moan at the sensation.

The feeling Derek experiences when Stiles moans with his mouth wrapped around his dick is like none other he’s ever felt before. It was almost as if the moan had shaken his very core and the sensation was enough to send him over the edge.

“Fuck.” Derek hissed right before spilling into Stiles’ mouth.

The Sub swallowed as much as he could as he milked Derek’s orgasm. When Stiles pulled back with a pop, Derek couldn’t help but feel pleased with himself at the sight of the near drunken smile clearly plastered on Stiles’ face.

The werefox’s hair was completely messed up due to Derek’s gripping and pulling with swollen red lips covered in spit and reminisants of cum on face. He looked completely wrecked.

Derek pulled him up from his kneeling position on the floor and rearranged them so Stiles was straddling his thighs on the bed before leaning in to kiss his flushed lips. The werewolf bite down slightly at Stiles’ bottom lip as he pulled back, causing a low moan to escape Stiles’ mouth.

“Color?”

“Green.” Stiles said breathlessly, “So, so green.”

“Good boy.” Derek says as he starts kissing along Stiles’ jaw.

He kisses down to the Sub’s neck then back up to his face until Stiles’ face is flushed red and panting. Small whines and moans being pulled out of his lips.

“Alpha.” Stiles moans and Derek can feel his eyes flashing deep red. “Alpha, _please_!”

Derek growls and nips at Stiles’ earlobe before pulling back to look at the Sub’s face. Stiles’ cheeks are flushed red and his gorgeous honey brown eyes are hooded with lust as his lips stayed slightly parted.

“Please what?” Derek whispers into the werefox’s flushed skin as he continues to pepper kisses along his jaw.

Stiles whimpers but doesn’t say anything as shivers run down his spine at the sound of Derek’s voice.

The alpha pulls back and lifts Stiles’ chin until whiskey orbs meet his own, “Tell me what you want, Kitten.”

“I want- I want you to touch me.” Stiles stutters as his flush deepened.

Derek hummed, “Where do you want me to touch you, Kitten?” He said before capturing Stiles’ lips.

“Do you want me to touch you here?” He asked while his fingers glided over Stiles’ neck. “Or here?” Derek said as he runs his hands down the Sub’s stomach. “Mm maybe here.” The werewolf stated as he started caressing Stiles’ now trembling thighs.

“My dick! I want you to touch my dick!! _Please_ , Alpha.” Stiles practically sobbed as he buried his face in Derek’s neck.

The Dom kissed his temple, “All you needed to do is ask, Kitten.” He said while firmly wrapping his hand around Stiles’ cock.

The werefox gasped out a breath at the feeling of Derek’s fingers around his dick. The alpha could see the slight tremors wracking up Stiles’ body, so, he knew the Sub was close.  

After about a dozen strokes Stiles mumbles, “Shit, I’m gonna…”

“Shh, it’s okay, baby. I’m right here, let me take care of you. You can let go now, Kitten.” Derek said before sliding his thumb on the tip of Stiles’ cock that had the werefox moaning his release in seconds.

Stiles slumped against him and Derek carefully rearranges the werefox so he was laying on his back with a pillow cushioning his head. He took off Stiles' leather cuffs, gently messaging the pale skin of the Sub's wrists.

A few moments later the werewolf swiftly moved towards the bathroom and got a warm, damp towel to clean both him and Stiles up.

Once he scrubbed all remaining cum off himself he quickly went back to the bed to where Stiles was still sprawled on his back in a sweaty heap of limbs.

He promptly cleaned Stiles up before placing the damp cloth on the nightstand and pulling Stiles close against him.

“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Derek asked as he combed his fingers through Stiles’ messy brown locks.

“Good. Really good… kind of floaty and… quiet.” The werefox mumbled while nuzzling closer into Derek’s chest.

“Can you explain what you mean by quiet, baby?”

“Quiet. Like, my brain isn’t thinking of a million things at once anymore… it’s just… quiet. Feels nice.” Stiles explains while keeping his eyes closed.

Derek kissed the top of his head, “Thank you for telling me, is there anything else you’re feeling?”

The werefox shook his head slightly, “No, just floaty and quiet. And happy. Really really happy.” He announced while cuddling up to his side with a content sigh on his lips.

Derek smiled down at the Sub, “I’m glad to hear that. You were perfect, baby, made me feel so good. Thank you for letting me take care of you, you did so good Stiles.” The alpha said before kissing Stiles’ forehead. “My good boy.”

The blissed out smile the werefox sends him is enough to make Derek’s heart skip a beat. He really couldn’t have asked for a more gorgeous mate. Stiles was the definition of beautiful.

“Really?” The Sub said while his golden brown eyes looked up at Derek. Fuck, Stiles’ eyes were breathtaking.

The werewolf caressed the Sub’s cheek, “Really. You were flawless Stiles, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

Stiles smiled brightly, “Good. Thanks Der, for taking such good care of me. It was amazing. I was so worried my first blow job would turn out horrible but you made the nerves go away. I'm so lucky to have you as my Beloved.”

“You’re very welcome.” Derek said as he placed another kiss on top of Stiles’ head. “Wait. That was the first time you’ve given someone a blow job!?” Derek gawks in pure surprise.

The werefox simply nodded and went back to cuddling into his chest. Derek was still trying to process that information.

“But how?! No one could be that good on the first try!”

Stiles shrugged nonchalantly, “I just imagined your dick was a popsicle. It was the closest thing I could come up with, so, I went with it. I like popsicles."

Derek blinked. Stiles was unbelievable.

“Hey, Stiles?” Derek waited for the werefox to give a soft hum in acknowledgment before continuing. “Remind me to buy popsicles the next time I need to go grocery shopping.”

Stiles’ laugh resonated throughout the room. “You better make sure they’re cherry, sourwolf!”

The werewolf couldn’t help but grin at the statement. He was in love with an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay the smut has finally commenced! So sorry if the smut was badly written, this is my first time writing smut, I just kind of envisioned how this would happen and tried to put it into words? Probably really sucked, I'll try to get better! Please leave comments! Love you :)


	13. All I Want For Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go everyone!! My Sterek Christmas Chapter with fluff, attempted humor, and a tiny bit of angst. This is definitely one of the longest chapters in this story and I hope you all like it.
> 
> HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE :)

Derek was staring at the evidence board in frustration. No matter how many times he looked at all the evidence he couldn't find _anything_ that could be linked back to Raeken or where he might be hiding.

The alpha had made sure that all of his deputies searched every crevice of Beacon Hills and then him and Sheriff Stilinski searched again just to make sure that no rock had been left unturned by the deputies. They had 5 deputies from both the supernatural division, that was run by Derek, and the human department, that was run by John, do nightly perimeter checks in search of Raeken.

Nothing has come up. It was almost as if Raeken had disappeared, no scent, no money deposits, no license plate number, nothing. It was driving Derek insane!

It's been a month since Lydia and Jackson's wedding and there has been no sign of Theo ever since.

He was taking on more and more night shifts lately, trying to keep his mornings and evenings free to spend some time with the pack. Scott was starting to warm up to him and the alpha has been trying to get to know the little wolf pup better.

Scott was quickly winning over his heart, the pup was a little ray of adorable sunshine.

Isaac was also starting to become more open and energetic. The sight of Isaac play fighting with Stiles while the Sub was in his fox form was the cutest thing Derek has ever seen.

All and all things were great with the pack. Derek didn’t want to ruin everything by letting his work consume his personal life, plus he didn’t think Stiles would want to be reminded of the fact that Theo was still out on the loose. The werefox was finally starting to get over his initial paranoia of the idea of Theo watching him throughout the day.

So, Derek tried his best to keep his work as far away from the pack as possible.

Derek had made sure to locate all the different numbers Theo used to send Stiles those horrid messages. It was just as Stiles has said, they were all from a different state and some were even from outside the United States.

The Alpha pinpointed all the areas that the phones were used from in hopes of finding some sort of pattern or theme, but, in the end, come up with nothing. There was no significance between those certain places and none of them had anything even remotely related to the other.

Derek was at a loss for what to do next. Other than the texts Theo had sent Stiles -which have come to a stop, thankfully- there was barely anything else they could use to track Theo.

Since they had no records of him Theo could be practically anywhere. They don’t know who his family was, where he was born, who he stays in contact with, what schools he went to, not even his fucking birthday shows up!

The guy was practically nonexistent!!

Derek knew there was something insanely suspicious about the lack of information they had on Theo in their database but Sheriff Stilinski had insisted that there was a reason behind it and then hired him into Derek’s department without further discussion.

The alpha hadn’t wanted someone he knew nothing about working as one of his deputies but he had listened to Sheriff Stilinski anyway and didn’t let his suspicions get the best of him.

Yeah, Derek was the sheriff of the BHSPD but he only has a handful of years of experience in the force and Sheriff Stilinski has so much more expertise than he does, so, Derek kept his mouth shut.

Derek kept glaring at the evidence board. He wondered, if he glared hard enough, maybe the multicolored strings on the board will magically move to the exact spot where Raeken was located.

He had no such luck.

The alpha was started to get a headache as his mind tried searching aimlessly for some kind of clue that could lead to Raeken.

The psychopath had to be near Beacon Hills, he has to be. People like Theo thrive on having someone completely under their control, they enjoy knowing that everything is just as they’d planned it out to be, but, they need to see the way it affects their target.

They need to see the result of all their hard work in order for it to be worth it. They have to watch.

But where the fuck could he be?! Derek’s looked everywhere and nothing has popped up! The only thing that seems even the slightest bit out of the ordinary are those weird animal carcasses being found in the preserve and no one can find any connection between the two events so it’s most likely completely unrelated to Raeken's disappearance.

Derek hears his phone buzz with a notification and instantly walks over to his desk to grab it.

He needs to calm himself down, he can’t get too worked up about this. Derek needs to try to distract himself for a bit, take a break from thinking about the case, he needs to relax and start looking back into it with fresh eyes.

He looks at his phone and can’t help the dopey smile that spreads across his face.

Stiles sent him a photo of Erica, Boyd, Scott, and Isaac all sprawled out on the couch, completely dead to the world, in Stiles’ house.

Boyd was sleeping in a sitting position against the armrest of the couch while Erica was laying across the entire thing with her head on Boyd’s lap, her mouth was wide open and her arm was dangling over the edge to where it was almost touching the hardwood floor.

Scott was star fished on top of Erica’s back facing upward with Isaac curled around him, the blond pup’s arms wrapped securely around the younger wolf and his head tucked into the crook of the other pup’s neck.

Derek’s chest warmed at the sight of his pack in such ease. ****

**Looks like u missed the party Sourwolf XP**

**Sorry I missed it**

**U better be sorry! I missed u 2 much <3**

**I missed you too baby**

**I know, I’m a delight ;)**

**Uh huh, sure**

**Don’t get all sassy, u know u love me.**

**Yes, I do**

**Gr8 now ur acting all sappy**

**You love it when I get sappy**

**U right XD**

In that moment, Sheriff Stilinski opens the door to Derek’s office.

“Derek, can you go over to storage really quick and get some old files for me? I need to go deal with a complaint about a drunk homeless person.”

“Sure, no problem.”

The older man sends him a grateful smile before exiting the room. Derek sighs as he gets up to make his way towards the storage rooms.

**I need to get back to work**

**Nuuuuuuuurrrrr don’t leave yet!!!!**

**Sorry baby I got to go :(**

**But yyyyyyyy**

**Because your dad wants me to find some old files**

**Fuck my dad**

**I’d prefer to fuck you ;)**

**…ur doing this on purpose**

**Maybe**

**Bye sweetheart, Love you**

**Love u 2 u fucking tease**

Derek smiled at the message before putting his phone in his pocket.

Today was the day that Erica decided they would all help Stiles decorate his house with all things Christmas. The alpha felt horrible for not being able to stay for more than to simply drop off the betas before he headed off to the station.

Isaac was really looking forward to everyone spending the day together at Stiles’ house. It broke Derek’s heart when the young beta got teary eyed when he realized Derek wasn’t staying with them.

Stiles' sad smile didn't escape his notice either.

It was mid-December and everyone was looking forward to the holidays. Today was the last day of school, so, everyone in the pack would be free to do as they pleased for a full 3 weeks.

Even Derek was able to get 2 full weeks off of work due to the holidays. He usually just got off on Christmas Day and New Years but Sheriff Stilinski had insisted him to take 2 weeks off to spend time with the pack.

Christmas was always a big deal in the Hale house growing up. Everyone helped decorate the house and there was always Christmas music playing. The house always seemed to smell of chocolate and peppermint during the festive month of December and it was so prominent in his mind that Derek could have sworn he smelled it every once in awhile.

Christmas has never been a thing he looked forward to after the fire, at least not in the same way.

He didn’t count the days until his birthday anymore and he didn’t feel the same overflowing joy he always did during this time of year like before.

This year was different though. He found himself genuinely looking forward to everything Christmas had to offer for the first time in years.

The only thing that was troubling him about the upcoming holiday was that he still had no idea what to get Stiles.

Erica said he was overthinking it and that if he really couldn't find something for the Sub then a vibrator would always be a crowd pleaser. But, as tempting as that idea was, Derek didn’t want to get Stiles something that was purely for their sex life. Derek could get Stiles a vibrator whenever he felt like it.

He wanted this to be special.

Maybe he was just being a hopeless romantic but the alpha wanted to get Stiles something that was meaningful.

He just hasn’t figured out what it was yet.

Derek makes his way into the storage room. It used to be Sheriff Stilinski's old office back when he was a new deputy before they remodeled the building for it to accommodate both the supernatural and human department. After all the details were finalized they created the old office into a storage facility.

When Derek walks into the storage room he instantly goes over to the boxes on the top left corner of one of the high shelves. John didn’t tell him what case he was looking into, just said that he needed a file under cold case labeled ‘Berserkers Polska’ which Derek was able to find fairly quickly.

Once he found the file he put everything back in their designated boxes and stacked everything back on the shelf. When he was placing the last box on top of the shelf, one of the folders slipped out and landed on the floor.

Grunting in annoyance, he bent down to pick it up but stopped when he notices a piece of paper sticking out from under the desk. It was covered in dust so he knew it wasn't one of the papers that fell from the folder.

Derek reaches out and grabs it, cleaning off the dust so he could see what was on it. Maybe it was an old case file or something. He flipped it over.

It was a picture.

A picture of Stiles and his what Derek could only assume was his mother.

The woman was beautiful, she had warm honey brown eyes with curly chestnut hair reaching past her shoulders and moles dotting her smiling face. The resemblance between her and Stiles was astonishing.

She was wearing a red hoodie that Derek has seen hanging in Stiles’ closet with washed out skinny jeans as a young Stiles -probably no older than 5- was sitting happily on her lap with a grey stuffed bunny held closely in his arms and the biggest smile Derek has ever seen plastered on his face.

They were perched on top of a baby blue jeep as a dense forest makes its appearance in the background.

The picture truly was flawless, all the love and joy they both felt in that moment was perfectly portrayed in this image. It made Derek’s heart clench at the knowledge that his mate didn’t have his mom for much longer after this photo was taken. Just from seeing this one picture the alpha could tell that Stiles’ mom meant the world to him...

It’s strange, the werewolf knows for a fact that this is the first time he sees a photo of Claudia Stilinski, but, he can’t help but feel there’s something wrong with that.

It’s clear that Stiles adored his mom, this picture proves it if the way he speaks about her isn’t enough evidence already, so, why hasn’t Derek seen pictures of Stiles’ mom in his house? Or in the sheriff’s house?

It doesn’t add up...

The alpha takes one more look at the picture in his hands before standing up and heading towards his office.

He has an idea.

 

* * *

 

“Tyler! Stop harassing your sister!” Laura shouted as she watched her 8 year old son try to tackle his 6 year old sister to the ground for the 5th time. She could see Claire getting agitated by his constant roughhousing, it was almost comical how similar her two children compare to Laura’s memories of her and Derek when they were kids.

Only she was the one tackling _him_ down, obviously.

“Eren, can you check on Dee and make sure he’s dressed properly? I was half asleep when I dressed him so I honestly have no idea what the hell I put him in. And make sure we packed nighttime pull ups and Dee’s blankie as well as Claire’s nightlight. I am _not_ having a repeat of last year!”

Laura doesn’t even want to think about last year’s trip.

They missed their flight to California because Tyler had refused to wake up no matter how many times she screamed at him to get his ass out of bed. It probably wasn’t the best idea to book a flight that was set to leave at 6 in the morning with 3 cranky kids under the age of 10. And in the rush to leave they forgot Damien’s blankie.

Let's just say it wasn't the best Christmas they'd ever had.

Luckily, she was smarter in her decision making when it came to picking a flight this time around. They were set to leave at 10:25 and although that meant that they still needed to be up pretty early, it was nothing compared to the struggle it was last year.

When they finally arrived at the airport she instantly spotted her mother sitting in one of the chairs as she waited for someone to announce when they’d be able to board to plane.

The 3 kids ran up to the older alpha instantly. “Grandma!!” They shouted before simultaneously pouncing on her.

Laura smiled at the scene and leaned against her husband, Eren, as the beta werewolf slung an arm around her waist, nuzzling into her long black hair.

She loved watching the pups interact with her mom. It filled her with warmth knowing that her family was so close to each other even after the fire. It’s been hard, losing most of the pack so suddenly,but they pushed through it.

Laura didn’t know what to think after the doctor told her that she was 2 months pregnant with her first pup when she woke up in a hospital bed covered in ashes and the smell of smoke potent in the air.

Now, seeing all her pups happy and healthy as they rambled to her mom about their morning, Laura felt like the luckiest person in the world. Tyler was a never ending ball of energy, Claire was an adorable dictator, and Damien was a sweet little 3 year old with an extreme shyness that everyone found endearing.

The younger alpha was excited to get on the plane and go to California to spend the holidays with her broody baby brother. Especially since she gets to finally meet this mate of his she’s been hearing so much about.

She can’t wait to embarrass the fuck out of him in front of his mate. It’s going to be fun.

“Hey, mom, where’s Peter? I thought he was going to creepily lurk as people enjoying themselves like he usually does.”

Talia snorted, “No, not this year, there was a business meeting he had to attend to so he won’t be coming to California with us.”

“That’s too bad, I thought it’d be funny to see how Stiles reacted to Peter’s creepy vibes.”

Eren shook his head at her and promptly picked Damien up when a voice rang out saying it was time to board the plane.

Laura was practically jumping in her seat once they entered the plane.

The younger alpha hasn’t met Stiles personally but from what she’s heard from both her mother and Kira, the Sub is perfect for her grumpy little brother. She can’t wait to meet him!

“Laura, could you calm down? You’re acting worse than the pups.” Eren sighed from his seat next to her.

The beta was looking at her in exasperation, his brown eyes staring at her with slight amusement as his dirty blond hair stuck up in all directions. Laura stuck out her tongue at him.

“I’m excited, sue me.”

With a long sigh of resignation the beta turned his attention back to the book he was reading. The alpha didn’t miss the slight upward curve of his lips as the werewolf turned to the page he had left off.

It’s amazing how they’ve been married for nearly 10 years and she still remembers how they first met in nearly perfect detail.

It was during her first year of grad school in NYU and she was trying to finish a 15 page paper in the library while trying to study for a history final she had forgotten about that was scheduled the next day.

Then this random guy with the most adorable freckles she has ever seen suddenly places a hot pumpkin spice latte in front of her and walks away saying, “Don’t overwork yourself.”

Needless to say that she was completely speechless and totally confused as to how in the world this guy knew she liked pumpkin spice lattes. It wasn’t until nearly a week later that she saw the same guy rustling about in a hurry to give customers their morning coffee in her favorite coffee shop.

They started dating a month later and have been inseparable ever since.

Sometimes she still can’t believe that she’s married to such a wonderful man and that they have 3 beautiful, healthy werewolf pups together.

Tyler is basically a carbon copy of her, with green eyes and black hair and a rambunctious personality that always gets him into trouble. Meanwhile, Claire had sparkling blue eyes with blonde curls who reminded her more of her mother, always polite and proper with an authoritative attitude that demanded everyone's respect. Then there was Damien, Dee for short, who had dark brown hair and huge amber eyes with a monstrous curiosity and dazzling smile.

She doesn’t know what more she could want.

When they finally got to Beacon Hills it was roughly 4:30 and everyone was dying to get the fuck out of the car. Laura almost sank to her knees in relief when she _finally_ knocked on the door to the Hale House.

When the door opened just a second later she was frozen in place.

The guy who answered the door was wearing some red skinny jeans with a comfy looking grey sweater and black hipster glasses. His chestnut hair was ruffled stylishly and his honey colored eyes were stunning. He had pale skin scattered with moles and lips that looked utterly sinful.

He was hot as fuck.

“Hey, I’m Stiles. It’s nice to meet you.” He said with a bright smile.

Without so much as stopping to think about what she was about to do, Laura marched right past Stiles and punched Derek’s arm when she found him in the living room.

“Why didn’t you tell me your mate was a steaming plate of hotness?! What the heck Der!? I deserve to know these things!!”

“You deserve to know if my mate is hot?” Derek deadpanned.

“Of course!! I am an _artist_ Derek, my life’s work revolves around beauty! Do you have any idea how much it hurts me that I come here to visit you and see this figure of gorgeousness piercing through my soul only to discover that he is your mate?! Oh, Der-Bear, how you wound me so!!!”

“Daddy? Are you okay? Your face is all red, do you want water?”

Laura turns to see a cute little boy -probably around 5 or 6 years old- looking up in concern at Stiles’ increasingly red face. She can smell the scent of embarrassment rolling off of the Sub in waves and she coos at the sight.

“Aww you’re so cute!!” The alpha squealed as she rushed over to Stiles and hugged him fiercely before pulling away slightly to look at his face, her face beaming. “I’m Laura, Sir Grumpy Pants’ older sister, and everyone’s favorite Hale sibling. I can tell we’re going to be great friends. Now, tell me what part of Derek’s life you want to hear embarrassing stories of, I’ve got _thousands_.”

Derek forcefully pulls her away from the bewildered Sub and possessively loops his arms around Stiles, pressing the werefox’s back flush against his chest.

“That’s enough Laura, I don’t need you contaminating his mind. He’s _mine_.”

Laura smirks, “You can’t keep him oblivious forever you know. He will know every single stupid thing you did growing up, I’ll make sure of it.”

“You’re the devil.” He growled out.

Laura just smiled pleasantly. It felt good to be complemented.

Talia rolled her eyes at their behavior. “Laura, stop tormenting your brother. Derek, stop holding onto Stiles like he’s Mr. Snuffles, let the boy breathe a bit would you? And Stiles, please forgive my children’s rudeness, I don’t know where I went wrong with them, I’m such an amazing person.”

Stiles snorts, still being held tightly by the werewolf but not making any effort to leave the comforting warmth. “It’s okay Tally, I actually like seeing Derek like this. It’s cute.” He says before kissing his Dom’s nose.

Derek blushed and began to nuzzle the werefox’s neck with a happy rumbling sound leaving his throat.

They were so cute Laura wanted to squeal and hug them for being so adorable. But that would mean hugging Derek and that wasn’t going to happen. She could catch his broodiness or something.

After all the introductions were made -Laura and Lydia totally hit it off, much to everyone’s utter terror- they all went off to do separate activities until it was time to eat.

Talia was helping Derek in the kitchen with adding the last finishing touches on the food, both making sure that Stiles went nowhere near the kitchen.

He’d been in the kitchen since early in the morning making sure everything was perfect and both alphas insisted he just relax and let them worry about the final details.

Laura and Lydia were sitting on the couch discussing world domination while Eren and Boyd talked about the book Eren was reading on the plane -apparently Boyd recommended it to him.

Erica was shaking her presents in efforts to figure out what she got as Jordan looked at her in amusement and Jackson and John watched as all the kids played with each other.

Well, except Damien. The pup was too little to keep up with the older kids and they didn’t seem to be missing him in the slightest.

He wasn’t alone for long though, because soon Stiles sat down next to him and started coloring with him, the werefox making up stories about every drawing they created. Some about incredible adventures and others about silly monsters that talked backwards.

Before long, Dee was giggling and sitting on Stiles’ lap as the Sub came up with more and more stories to tell the little toddler.

Laura couldn’t help but smile at the scene before her, Dee has never warmed up to something that fast before and knowing that her pup was laughing and playing with none other than her brother’s mate filled her wolf with pride.

This is what she missed so much about her pack. The closeness they all had with each other.

She was supposed to be the Alpha of Beacon Hills, not Derek. This was supposed to be _her_ territory, but, she couldn’t start a new pack where her old one perished. She wouldn’t be able to stand it.

So, she moved to New York, running away from her problems and forcing her younger brother to become the Alpha of Beacon Hills once he was old enough even though he was never meant to.

Instead of ruling over Beacon Hills she chose to take on the territory they had in New York. It was still Hale land but it didn’t have the same history of their pack that Beacon Hills did. Leaving Beacon Hills wasn’t her proudest moment but Laura is happy to see that Derek was able to make Beacon Hills his home again.

She always knew he’d be a good alpha, even though he never thought of himself as one.

After a while Erica sighed and flopped on the floor. “Let’s all do something together before I die of boredom.”

Lydia hummed, “Do you guys have Just Dance?”

The grin on Erica’s face was big enough to split her face in two. “Yes! We have all the generations!! I’ll get the system ready! Whoever wins all the rounds will have to battle against _me_!!”

The banshee smirked, “Challenge accepted. I’ll go first.”

“Choose your first opponent.” Erica said with a wolfish smile on her face before hopping on the couch.

“Stiles. You’re up.” Lydia announced before taking her spot in front of the TV.

Stiles sighed but stood up and joined her.

Erica tched, “Wow, Lydia, choosing the easiest person to beat. I thought you’d at least challenge yourself a little bit.”

This time, it was Stiles that smirked, “What do you say Lyds? Best out of 5?”

“No, let’s just keep going until one of us beats the other twice in a row.”

“You’re on.”

They picked the song Die Young to start off, Stiles choosing to dance as the girl to the right while Lydia was the one on the left.

To say everyone was shocked to find that Stiles could actually dance nearly completely in sync with the dancers on the screen was an understatement.

“Derek get your ass over here and see your mate move his perky booty!”

Let’s just say that it’s a good thing Derek wasn’t holding anything in his hands when he spotted his mate dancing with Lydia. And judging by the smirk that made it’s way onto the werefox’s lips, Stiles didn’t miss the way the werewolf reacted.

In the end, Lydia won the first round but only by a handful of points. It was an extremely close match.

But that was nothing compared to the next song they picked. It was Black Widow and Stiles was killing it! How the fuck does a guy move his hips like that?!?! _Laura_ couldn’t even move her hips like that.

After a while Stiles and Lydia were tied, 4 to 4. Lydia had beat Stiles in Die Young, Where Have You Been, Dear Future Husband, and Bang Bang while Stiles had destroyed her in Black Widow, Timber, Umbrella, and Hey Mama.

Everyone was anxious to see who came out on top. Laura’s pretty sure Erica and Derek are betting money on who’d win. Derek obviously going for Stiles while Erica set her sight on Lydia as the champion.

“Alright, this has gone on long enough.” Lydia announced, “This is the last song. Winner takes all. Just make sure it’s not another male and female duet. The girl always does all the work while Stiles just needs to stand there and have some sort of rhythm.”

“Oh, really? Do I need to remind you that _I_ was the girl while we were doing Timber and I still beat your ass? You know what, just for that, Erica! I want you to give me the hardest female solo you got!! We’ll see who the real winner is.”

Erica solutes before she chooses the next song.

Circus. Extreme edition.

“Oh shit.” Stiles curses before taking off his shirt. He took off his sweater after the first dance but now he’s completely topless.

Laura would be lying if she said she didn’t appreciate the view.

The song started and everyone stared as the two of them battled it out to be on top. They were both doing the choreography perfectly and it was hard to tell who would win.

Stiles’ hip rolls were to die for though. Damn, those hips certainly do not lie.

Then, out of nowhere, the girl on the screen throws herself on the floor and kicks her leg up!! And Stiles doesn’t miss a fucking beat!

After that Stiles takes the lead due to Lydia’s stubble at the fall.

He’s on fire. Moving his hips and hands in perfect synchronization with the character. Considering how much she’s heard her mom mention the werefox’s clumsiness the way he moves with such grace should be damn near impossible.

When the song is over Stiles is declared the winner and he shouts in victory.

“Ha! I still got it! Suck it Lyds you’ll always be the second best dancer compared to me!”

“Yeah, yeah, calm down twinkle toes. I was still valedictorian of our class in college. You’ll always be second best when it comes to academics.” Lydia said, but, she had a smile plastered on her face and hugged the Sub in congradulations.

“Okay, I’m going to ask what everyone has been thinking since Bambi started moving his hips. How the hell did you learn to dance like that?!” Erica screeched.

Stiles shrugged, “I started dancing to lose the baby weight after Scottie was born. I was in track too but dancing got the pounds off a lot quicker. Turns out I really liked it and I got pretty good once I lost the extra weight so I kept doing it. I’m not in a studio anymore like I was during college but I still dance occasionally to keep in shape.”

“I was the one to suggest it.” Lydia proclaimed, “It was a stress reliever for me ever since I was little and since he was still dealing with losing Malia I thought it’s be a good way to keep his mind off of it as well as lose weight.”

“Finally! A worthy opponent! Come on Bambi let’s go, best out of 5.” Erica shouted excitedly.

“No. I am not dancing until _after_ I eat. I’m starving!”

Erica pouted but soon made her way towards the dining table as everyone started taking their seats.

Stiles put his shirt back on but left his sweater on the back of his chair. Laura and Erica whined simultaneously at the loss.

Derek growled at them and put his arm around the werefox protectively, causing Stiles to roll his eyes at his behavior but snuggled closer to the alpha nonetheless.

The food was amazing and Laura was debating between getting a third serving or moving onto the dessert. She was going to kidnap Stiles, he needed to make her his delicious food everyday.

“Laura, darling, do I need to give you a minute alone with your food?” Eren said from his spot next to her.

She glared at him, “This food is orgasmic okay? Let me be happy!”

Eren sighs, “Only I would have to deal with competing with food to get my wife's affection.”

“This isn't just food Eren! This is a way of life. A beautiful, amazing way of life!”

“You said it Laura!” Erica shouted, “If I wasn't mated to Boyd I would have tried to seduce Stiles the second I tasted his food.”

A threatening growl claws its way out of Derek's throat at Erica's declaration.

“Wow, you've been reduced to grunts and growls already and we haven't even had dessert. Poor little sourwolf.” Stiles soothes as he nuzzles the werewolf's neck. “Don't worry misiu, I don't want anything to do with these scary women. I want you and only you.”

After that Derek stop growling at Erica and Laura's advances toward the Sub but didn't move his arm from where it was wrapped possessively around Stiles’ shoulders.

When everyone finished eating the slice of heaven that is Stiles’ cooking, they all gathered in the kitchen island where Derek’s birthday cake was located.

To everyone's surprise Dee insisted on being held by ‘unca tiles’ and planted himself firmly on the werefox’s hip. Everyone pretended not to notice Derek's heart skip a beat at the sight of the 3 year old giggling hysterically as Stiles playfully nibbled at his little fingers.

Laura had never seen such pure adoration on her little brother’s face. He was totally smitten with the fox and he wasn’t even trying to hide it.

“Alright,” Jordan announced, “Gather around everyone it’s time to sing happy birthday to Derek.”

Erica shook her head, “Nope. We don’t sing happy birthday to Derek.”

“What? Why not?” Stiles inquired.

Laura’s answering smile was the stuff of nightmares. “Because, my darling little fox, on Derek’s 5th birthday he decided it would be a smart idea to play baseball with Peter despite mom specifically telling him not to because he was too young and could get hurt. His brilliant idea to go against mom’s word ended with him losing his two front teeth after failing to hit the ball. So, ever since then we sing All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth on Der-Bear’s birthday.”

Stiles blinks. Once. Twice. Three times.

Then he bursts out laughing, causing Derek to sulk as his mate laughs at him.

“Oh my god! That’s perfect. Oh lord, why wasn’t I informed of this sooner sourwolf?! Jesus Christ I can’t breathe.”

“I’m sorry I failed to mention that my family likes to verbally humiliate me even on my birthday.” Derek grumbles as he glares at the birthday cake in front of him like it’s the source of all the world’s problems.

“Aww don’t be like that. If you keep frowning like that you’ll get wrinkles all over your pretty face.” Stiles cooed before kissing Derek chastely on the lips.

After Stiles was done being an adorable cutie pie everyone sang All I Want for Christmas is My Two Teeth to Derek, making him scowl at everyone as the scent of embarrassment surrounded him.

It was hilarious.

Then everyone got a piece of cake and they laughed and tried to get Derek to stop pouting -this happened every year and Laura wouldn’t change it for the world.

Everyone was laughing and telling stories of Derek when he was little -she always loved the fact that she was 9 years older than him- as the kids ran around the house.

Laura could see Dee struggling to keep his eyes open as he lazily nuzzled into Stiles’ neck, she should probably take him to bed considering it was nearly 7 and he usually goes to bed around 7:30. Not to mention he skipped out on his afternoon nap because of the flight.

The poor pup must be exhausted.

But then Stiles starts gently lulling him to sleep and petting the little boy’s hair and Laura swears she sees Derek melt when he glances at the Sub.

She decides to stay put and let Stiles take care of it. The werefox obviously knows what he’s doing and watching Derek suffer is just too good to pass up.

This is easily becoming the best Christmas ever.

 

* * *

 

Soon everyone was gathered around the Christmas tree to start opening their presents. Dee fell asleep on him a little while ago so he handed the pup off to Laura so she could put him to bed but once she came back they all started ripping off the decorative wrapping paper and opening their presents.

Stiles turned red when he opened a box labeled for both him and Derek that held a bunch of lace panties in numerous styles. Everyone laughed at his reaction and Derek looked like he wanted to murder his sister.

Laura shrugged, “I didn’t know what type of panties would flatter Stiles the most so I just got a couple of every style.”

The rest of the gifts were much more child friendly. Erica got him a Batman mug with the words ‘I am the night’ written on it, Lydia got him more clothes -as always-, Jackson gave him a book titled ‘How To Stop Failing In Life’ which Stiles instantly threw at his head, and Boyd gave him a darth vader apron.

Stiles might have squealed. Just a little.

Derek’s face when he opened Stiles’ Christmas present was priceless though. He looked so offended, yet, amused at the same time. It was a weird combination but totally worth it.

“Oh my god! You gave him an ugly Christmas sweater with grumpy cat on it!!! It says ‘jingle all the way to hell’ I’m dying!!!” Erica screeched as she tried to gasp for air in between laughter.

Laura wasn’t doing much better, she was clinging onto Eren to keep her from falling off the couch.

Stiles leans over to whisper in Derek’s ear when he sees the grumpy pout set on the werewolf’s lips.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you once we don’t have visitors sleeping in the same house. I might even put Laura’s gift to good use. I’d try them out tonight but I don’t want to be rude to our guests.” Stiles whispered before biting down on Derek’s ear softly.

The wolf sighed and mumbled under his breath something that sounded suspiciously like ‘it’s not like they’ll hear anyway’ and Stiles rolled his eyes.

Yeah, that’s technically true considering every room is magically sound proofed to make sure that werewolf ears can’t hear through them but Stiles still didn’t want to risk it. Not when his dad is going to be spending the night with them as well.

That’s just a shit load of awkward waiting to happen in the morning.

A few minutes later, Stiles is rummaging through the mountain of presents in search of all of Erica's remaining gifts (There are more Bambi! I know they’re there, you just haven't found them yet!! Keep looking!) when he finds a thin gift covered in red wrapping paper with his name on it.

It’s from Derek.

He starts opening it and soon finds himself staring at the back of a frame. Stiles furrows his brows in confusion, not understanding why Derek would get him a picture frame for Christmas.

Then he flips it over and feels all the air leave his lungs as he looks at the image before him.

It’s his mom… it… it’s been so long since he last saw her face that he nearly forgot what she looked like.

He remembers the brown hair and kind eyes and moles but he doesn’t remember the slightly upturned nose or smile lines on her face or even the twinkle in her eyes that were always bright with joy.

She looks… she looks beautiful.

Stiles can’t believe it’s been nearly 15 years since she died. His mom was so young and full of life in this picture. He remembers when this photo was taken.

It was when his mom fixed up her blue jeep after it broke down in the middle of the road again. Dad was yelling at her to just get a new one but she’d always say ‘I will never abandon this car, you hear me? Never!’ before fixing it up again.

His dad never understood why she refused to get rid of the old car and remind her day and night that ‘most queens don’t ride around in death traps’ to which she’d always reply ‘and most queens wear tiaras and pretty dresses while their people are starving and homeless. A crown doesn’t make me a queen, the way I lead my people does. Hell, the only reason I even live in that huge ass castle is because my parents would kill me if I ever moved somewhere else.’ and that was where the argument ended.

Stiles suddenly felt his throat close up.

God, what he’d give to hear his parents fight about the damn jeep again, to have his mom take him to the woods for a run, to feel her arms embrace him just one more time… The things he’d do to say ‘I love you’ one last time to her.

She deserved that. His mom deserved to hear those words as she took her last breath.

But she didn’t.

Stiles didn’t say those 3 simple words to her before she died and he’s regretted it since the moment he saw the light leave her eyes.

He missed her more than anything and seeing her look so happy in a picture somehow made the loss feel so much more fresh than it has in a long time.

But he doesn’t ever want to stop looking at it. Stiles hasn’t seen a picture of his mother since… since the incident. He hasn’t been able to see his mother’s smiling face in so long that he was forgetting what it looked like.

The image made him feel raw and pained at the loss of his mom but it was the best present he could have asked for.

“Stiles? Stiles, baby, are you okay? Talk to me sweetheart.”

Derek’s voice snaps the werefox out of his daze. He didn’t even notice that he was crying until he felt the werewolf wipe the tears away.

The alpha looked like a completely mess. “Stiles, I am so sorry, baby. I didn’t think you’d react like that! God, I’m so fucking stupid. Don’t cry sweetheart, please, I’ll do anything just please don’t cry, baby! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Stiles practically flings himself into the werewolf’s arms, cutting off Derek’s constant streams of apologies.

“Thank you.” Stiles whispers as he tightens his arms around the alpha.

The words are ripped through his lips as more tears begin to cascade down his face. Derek has no idea how much this picture means to him.

When Stiles eventually pulls away from the Dom he quickly wipes the tears from his eyes and gives Derek a watery smile.

The fox sees his dad look at him with guilt in his eyes. The man has never managed to forgive himself no matter how many times Stiles repeated that it was all forgiven. It saddened Stiles to think that his dad still felt guilty after all these years but there was nothing the Sub could do about it.

He’d already forgiven his dad, now his dad just needs to learn to forgive himself.

Stiles could sense Talia’s gaze on him as well. He looked back to confirm that the female alpha was indeed looking at him with a sad smile on her lips.

She remembered. Of course she remembered, Stiles had cried to her for hours after it happened, he’s just not sure whether or not he wants her to.

Later, once everyone had gone to their designated rooms and him and Derek were laying on the bed, Stiles find himself in the safety of his Dom’s arms.

The wolf was nuzzling at him sleepily and Stiles preened at the attention.

Most people wouldn’t describe Derek was a ‘cuddly’ person due to his permanent scowl and judgmental eyebrows of doom, but, the werewolf was really just a big cuddly puppy at heart.

Stiles still couldn’t believe that Derek had given him a framed picture of him with his mom for Christmas. How did he find it anyway? The fox thought all the pictures of his mom were destroyed for good.

But Derek somehow managed to get his hands on that gorgeous photo and he didn’t even know how much that picture means to Stiles.

He thought he’d never see his mother’s face again, yet, by some miracle, Derek was able to give him what he’d always wanted without so much as realizing it.

Stiles doesn’t know what the hell he did to ever deserve having Derek as his Beloved. But he’s really glad he did it.

 

* * *

 

_Stiles couldn’t sleep. No matter how many times he twisted and turned his eyes stayed wide awake and he didn’t like it._

_With an annoyed huff he scampered off the bed, his stuffed rabbit Mr. Fluffers pressed tightly into his chest, and walked to the kitchen._

_Stiles didn’t like walking around the castle at night when he was younger, it was always big and scary without mama or tata with him, but now that he’s eight the castle seems more peaceful than anything else._

_It was actually kind of pretty under the light of the moon._

_He was surprised when he came to find that the lights were dimmed in the kitchen. Stiles was even more surprised when he found his mom sitting criss cross applesauce with the secret jar of cookies in her lap on top of the island._

_“Stiles, why are you awake at this hour? I thought you were asleep.”_

_“Couldn’t sleep.” Stiles stated as he jumped on the kitchen island to sit next to his mom._

_His mom offered him a cookie from the jar, which he quickly accepted, before speaking again. “I know I probably shouldn’t be giving you sugar right now, but I’ve been meaning to eat these cookies without your dad finding me for a while now and it’s just so much more fun to torment him with my little kotku around.”_

_Stiles giggled when his mom ruffled his hair playfully. He got another cookie from the glass jar and let himself lean against his mom’s side as she started telling him about the new book she started reading._

_It was maybe half an hour later when his dad found them._

_“What the hell are you two doing up? And, more importantly, why are you two eating cookies without me?”_

_His mom smirked, “John, you must be crazy if you think I’d let you so much as smell a cookie with your high cholesterol.”_

_Stiles failed to stifle a laugh when his dad pouted._

_“Fine. Both of you, go to bed.”_

_“It never seizes to amaze me how you could go from kneeing prettily for me to ordering me back to bed as if I was a naughty child.”_

_Stiles sees his dad turn red but he can’t explain why. “Bed. Now.”_

_“But tataaaa,” Stiles whined, “I can’t go to bed. I’ve tried to go to sleep but I just can’t do it, can’t I stay up a little longer?”_

_“That’s not how sleeping works, kit.” His dad explained as he shook his head fondly._

_“Oh, I know, why don’t I take you on a run, kotku? It’ll tire you out and then you’ll be able to sleep.”_

_“Kay!”_

_After saying bye to his dad, Stiles and his mom swiftly changed into their fox forms once they reached the gardens._

_They don’t go farther than a mile away from the castle, which is still property of the royal family but Stiles doesn’t care, he loves running with his mom. Especially when she lets him chase down rabbits and squirrels._

_The little kit never kills them but he finds it extremely entertaining to catch them and growl before letting them scurry away from him once again._

_Stiles was in the middle of trying to catch a butterfly -he was going to catch one of them someday, he knows he will- when his mom suddenly stiffened after scenting the air._

_‘Stiles. Run.’_

_The kit heard the voice of his mother through the mind link but he couldn’t understand why she was asking him to run. He was just about to catch the butterfly!_

_‘Kotku, I’m not joking, run. Now!’_

_The fear in his mom’s voice had Stiles turning around and running as fast as he could before he could question any further._

_‘Mama, where are we going?’_

_‘Don’t worry about that right now, just run!’_

_‘But-’_

_‘RUN!’_

_Stiles kept running. He tried to calm his rapid beating heart but he couldn’t do anything more than panic about what was going on and run._

_After a few moments Stiles starts feeling himself get tired. He doesn’t have the same stamina as his mom since he’s still just a kit and his speed starts to steadily decrease. No matter how hard he tries he knows he won’t be able to keep up with his mom for much longer._

_His mom quickly realized it though and instantly clamped her teeth carefully around the nape of his neck and sprinted through the woods in a white blur._

_Stiles could hear footsteps steadily gaining on them as well as the sound of harsh breathing._

_Suddenly his mom turned and hid him in a small crevice under a tree. His small body was easily hidden but he knew his mom wouldn’t be able to fit since her body was one of a full grown fox._

_‘Mama?’_

_He didn’t understand why she was backing away from him and heading toward the sound of crushing leaves. She was going to hide too right?_

_‘Just stay there Kotku. Everything is going to be fine, just don’t move.’_

_‘Mama where are you going?’_

_‘Shhh it's okay little one. Mama is just going to take care of something kotku.’_

_Stiles didn't like where this was going. He could hear his mom running away, not far enough to keep him from hearing her heartbeat but enough to make sure that whatever was chasing them couldn't smell him._

_Before long Stiles can hear the sounds of vicious growls and snapping jaws. His heart was beating faster than ever and he couldn't keep his body from shaking in fear._

_He focused on his mom's heartbeat as the sound of snarls and the slam of bodies grew louder and louder._

_Her heartbeat was running a mile a minute but it didn't falter and the knowledge that his mother's heartbeat was still strong and steady comforted him more than anything._

_There were other heartbeats, Stiles could hear them clearly, maybe 5 others besides his mom’s in total, but he didn’t want to hear them. He just wanted to hear his mom’s heart, only hers._

_Hers was the only one that mattered._

_Then everything became quiet. The snarls and crashing bodies stopped. Stiles couldn’t hear any heartbeat._

_Except one._

_The tiny kit slowly made his way out of his hiding place, scenting the air to make sure that the attackers were truly gone._

_He could only smell blood in the air._

_Stiles raced over to where he could hear his mom’s heartbeat thumping slowly, dangerously slowly, but still unfaltering._

_What he saw made his breath hitch._

_There were 5 bodies covered in blood on the floor, no heartbeat to be heard. They were wearing animal skulls to cover their faces and were dressed in fur. Stiles could smell that they’re all humans._

_But what really made his heart stop in his chest was the sight of his mother in her hybrid form laying against a tree with open wounds and nasty bruises painting her pale skin._

_She looks just like she would in her human form only that her eyes shined gold and her fangs and claws were extended as well as her fox ears having made an appearance at the top of her head._

_Stiles runs to her and tries not to whine when she hisses in pain as his small frame crawls on her lap. He’s incredibly light in his fox form, hardly even reaching 2 pounds, if his mom feels pain with only 2 pounds pressed on her lap then she must have a lot of internal injuries._

_He must have done a bad job at hiding his guilt because her glowing eyes, still filled with pain, softened and her bruised lip twitched upward._

_“G-go ba-ck t-to the cas’le kot… ku.”_

_‘NO! I’m not leaving you! You have to come with me mama!!’_

_Stiles really hoped his desperation didn’t sound as obvious through the mind link, but he knew it did. Even though he wasn’t actually speaking, the mind link was showcasing every emotion he felt through his voice._

_“It’s o...kay just g-go kotku… you’re… you’re safe… you’re s-safe.”_

_Stiles knows that his mom was struggling to breathe and her injuries were just getting worse the longer they didn’t heal._

_Why wasn't she healing?!?!_

_‘It’s not okay! You’re hurt and bleeding and you’re not healing and and… and it’s all my fault mama!! Please, you have to heal! You have to mama!’_

_He was starting to panic. She wasn’t getting any better and Stiles has no idea what to do! He’s so out of it that he doesn’t even notice when he shifts to his human form, the only thing revealing him to be a supernatural creature being his shining gold orbs._

_Stiles could feel them glowing but all he could think about is how his mom looks so pale that he could see her veins._

_“Sh-shhh it’s okay baby… pro-promise… I love you S-Stiles, so… so much kotku… t-take care of tata f-for me o-okay?”_

_Her eyes start to lose focus._

_“Mama?!”_

_Her eyes flutter closed._

_“Mama wake up!! You can’t go to sleep now we have to go back home!! Mama please!”_

_Her heartbeat goes flat._

_“MAMA!!! No, mama you can’t leave me! Not now, not ever! You need to wake up mama!! MAMA PLEASE!!!!”_

_Silence. There wasn’t a single sound to be heard through the forest other than Stiles’ broken sobs._

_His mom was gone… and she wasn’t ever coming back._

**_._ **

**_._ **

**_._ **

_It’s been a month since his mom died and Stiles and his dad have been in Beacon Hills for a little over 3 weeks._

_It’s not that bad. No one knows them. No one knows what happened. No one knows he’s a werefox. No one knows anything._

_No one but Tally._

_Stiles doesn’t care though. He’s been in a daze ever since his mom was killed. Apparently now he gets these things called panic attacks that make it really hard for him to breathe and fill him with a sense of anxiety and guilt greater than he’s ever felt before._

_His dad isn’t doing much better._

_He’s been drinking that weird smelling stuff every night and it makes him act really angry and violent. Sometimes his dad just yells but other times he gets physical._

_He never remembers in the morning though, but then, whatever bruises he gave Stiles have long since healed._

_Stiles doesn’t mind it. He probably deserves it._

_Besides, his dad isn't anything like that during the day. His dad smells sad all the time now and his smiles are forced, but, he doesn’t treat Stiles badly or anything._

_Not until he starts drinking that strange liquid he keeps in the cabinets._

_Suddenly, Stiles hears something shatter from downstairs. He quickly puts down Mr. Fluffers and sprints down the stairs._

_He sees his dad taking the picture of his mom -the one where she was heavily pregnant with him and smiling at the camera like she couldn’t be happier- from the broken frame and ripping it to shreds._

_“Dad stop!!”_

_Stiles hasn’t been able to call his dad ‘tata’ since they moved to Beacon Hills. It just wasn’t the same anymore. His dad wasn’t the same anymore…_

_The older man turned around and glared at Stiles with such intensity that the little werefox stumbled backwards in pure shock by the amount of hatred showing through his father's blue eyes._

_“It’s you. It’s all you.” His dad said as he slowly walked towards him, the nearly empty glass bottle of golden liquid held tightly in his hand._

_“You know, everyday that I see her face hanging on these walls and remember that I will never get to see that beautiful careless smile on her face I think to myself how the hell I’m going to raise this stupid kid on my own.”_

_“D-dad?”_

_“This hyperactive little bastard that keeps ruining my life.”_

_His breath hitches and Stiles tries to blink the tears away but fails as he feels the droplets falling down his cheeks._

_“It’s you, Stiles. You killed your mother, you hear me!”_

_Stiles can feel his breath coming out in rapid pants as the now familiar feeling of anxiety claws at his throat._

_“No!”_

_He didn’t kill mama. He didn’t! Those monsters killed her, not him!! He didn’t… he didn’t kill her…_

_“YOU KILLED HER!”_

_“Stop it!!”_

_“You killed her and now you’re killing me!!”_

_“Please-”_

_“If it wasn’t for you Claudia would still be alive! This is all your fault Stiles, this is all because of YOU! You’re the reason she’s dead, she died because she was protecting you!!”_

_Then the glass bottle was suddenly flying straight towards his face and Stiles couldn’t do anything more than duck his head and hide behind the couch._

_Stiles can hear the sound of glass breaking and paper ripping. He knows his dad is destroying all the pictures of his mom, but, it’s not like he can really do anything about it._

_It’s his fault his mom is not here anymore, he doesn’t deserve to see her pretty smile anymore. Not after what happened. Not after he killed her…_

_“Mama.” He whimpers as he curls into himself as more sounds of destruction echo around him._

_It’s all his fault._

 

* * *

  

Derek woke up to the sounds of sheets rustling restlessly and pained whimpers. The werewolf was instantly on high alert as he turned to find Stiles curled into himself on the bed as the scent of fear and distress roll off of him in waves.

“Stiles?” He asks worriedly as he shakes Stiles’ shoulder in an attempt to wake him up.

The werefox whined at the contact and Derek’s heart rips in two when he hears the pained sound escape Stiles’ lips.

“Stiles, baby, it’s me. Wake you sweetheart it’s just a dream.”

The Sub still wasn’t waking up and Derek was starting to get extremely worried. This didn’t seem like a regular nightmare.

Derek kept shaking Stiles’ shoulders. “Stiles wake up.”

“S-stop it.” Stiles whimpered in his sleep as he tried to get away from Derek's touch.

“Stiles!”

“I didn’t… I’m sorry… accident.” The Sub mumbles, the scent of fear intensifying.

“STILES!”

Stiles awoke with a gasp, panic quickly enveloping his scent until his eyes landed on Derek and tears started falling from his honey colored eyes.

“D-Der?”

Before Stiles could say anything else Derek quickly wrapped his arms around the Sub and pulled him into his chest.

“I’m right here baby. It’s okay, it was just a nightmare, it’s okay.”

The werefox choked out a sob and the sound made Derek’s heart ache. He hated seeing his mate so miserable.

He doesn't know how long they spent like that, Stiles crying in his arms while Derek tried to soothe him by rubbing a hand up and down his back as he whispered comforting words in the werefox’s ear. But, eventually, the Sub's gut wrenching cries turned to silent tears with the occasional sniffle.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Derek asked cautiously once he knew that Stiles’ tears had stopped.

He didn't want to push Stiles if the Sub felt uncomfortable telling him what the nightmare about. No matter how much his wolf urged him to find out what was causing his mate so much distress.

Minutes passed before Stiles said anything, Derek was convinced the werefox wasn’t going to talk.

Then Stiles started speaking, his voice muffled from where he had his face pressed against Derek’s chest. “I had a nightmare about my mom’s death.”

The werewolf froze.

“Don’t worry Der, I know it’s pathetic. I haven’t had a nightmare about it in a while but it still happens from time to time. God, my mom died when I was eight, you’d think I would be over it by now.”

Derek could smell Stiles’ scent go from fear and anxiety to guilt and shame. The alpha somehow manages to stifle the growl that was trying to claw its way out of his throat. Stiles shouldn’t feel guilty about something like this!

“Don’t do that.” Derek whispered while tightening his arms around the werefox. “You’re not pathetic. Just because you still have nightmares about your mom doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. You watched your mom die at a very young age, you don’t just ‘get over’ that, no matter how long ago it happened. Stop degrading yourself over something that’s perfectly normal, sweetheart.”

Stiles stayed quiet, just snuggling up against Derek’s chest as he tried to forget about the remaining ghosts of the nightmare.

After a few moments Derek finally broke the silence. “I’m sorry.”

The Sub’s head snapped up to meet Derek’s, his honey colored eyes filled with confusion and worry.

“I should have realized that giving you that picture as a present was a bad idea. I didn’t think it would trigger such horrible memories, but, I guess I should have figured something like this would happen. You didn’t have any pictures of your mom anywhere and I found it strange but I never thought it would have caused you to react like this. I was stupid and incredibly careless, I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

Stiles’ eyes were practically bugging out of his head by the time Derek finished apologizing.

“Are you fucking insane?! That was the greatest gift I have ever gotten, and I got roscoe for my 16th birthday, that picture was perfect Der! How did you even find that?”

The alpha felt his ears burning at Stiles' declaration and he knew that his face was probably completely red right now. “I found it in the storage room, where your dad’s old office used to be. When I saw it was a photo of you and your mom I… well I thought you’d like it so…”

“I DO! I mean, uh, I do. I love it, really it’s amazing. I haven’t seen a picture of my mom in so long and you have no idea how happy you made me by finding it. We used to have tons of pictures of my mom but then…well… something happened and they were all destroyed.”

Derek lifted Stiles’ chin up so that their eyes met, “What happened?” He asked gently.

The Sub bit his lip, “My dad, um, he didn’t cope very well with my mom’s death. He’d drink every single night until he passed out on the floor and had no recollection of any of it the next day. A month after my mom died I heard this loud crash from downstairs and saw my dad rip up a picture of my mom. I tried to stop him at first but it didn’t really work out, he gets really angry and irritated when he’s drunk. He destroyed every picture of her that day, every... single… one… He, uh, didn’t remember anything when he woke up so you could imagine how much fun explaining everything was. My dad _still_ hates himself for all that.”

The first thing on Derek’s mind is rip John’s throat out with his teeth and make him suffer but he quickly snaps out of it. Stiles doesn’t need him to go all protective alpha right now. He’ll definitely be speaking to John about why the fuck the man didn’t tell him about this sooner though, his wolf will probably go insane if he doesn’t.

“Let’s go to the kitchen.” Derek says as he pushes himself off the bed.

Stiles needs to get his mind off the nightmare and Derek needs his wolf to calm it’s ass down before he decides to kill John. The alpha knows just what to do.

Stiles follows him wordlessly but the werewolf can smell the confusion radiating off of him.

When they arrive at the kitchen Derek gets an entire batch of soft sugar cookies decorated in green and red icing with multicolored sprinkles that the kids insisted on making and poured his mom’s famous hot chocolate in both of their designated mugs.

Stiles’ confusion only intensified when Derek handed him his batman mug filled with hot chocolate and placed the rest of the items on the little table in front of the couch.

“Um, Der? What are you doing?”

The alpha didn’t answer as he got the softest blanket he could find before returning to the couch and beckoning Stiles to lay on top of his chest as he bundled them both up in the comfy blanket.

“What?” He asked when he noticed Stiles staring at him like he was mentally ill.

When the fox just tilted his head in confusion Derek sighed. “Whenever I had a nightmare when I was younger my mom would always make me eat cookies and drink hot chocolate while wrapping me up in a cozy blanket to get me to fall asleep again.”

The smile he got from Stiles was blinding, “You really are a big cuddly teddy bear you know that?”

Then the Sub was bumping their noses together and Derek hated how the simple action made him blush. Stiles should not be allowed to be this adorable.

“Just eat your damn cookies.” He grumbled as he pulled Stiles closer to his chest.

The werefox chuckled but did as he was told without further prompting.

They stayed like that for a while, just eating cookies and drinking hot chocolate as they gazed at the Christmas tree. Derek even told Stiles about a few eventful Christmases that took place before the Hale fire.

It was nice to talk about them. Derek didn’t feel the same feeling of deep loss that he used to whenever he thought of them anymore.  

Around an hour later Stiles was fast asleep on his chest, his slow and deep breaths calming soothing him until sleep finally consumed him a few moments later.

Derek couldn’t think of a better way to finish off Christmas than to rest peacefully with his mate content in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter! It was really fun to write this so I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say.
> 
> P.S. The scene between John and Stiles during the nightmare was my own little retake of Stiles' hallucination at Lydia's party during Teen Wolf S2E9


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